Webster County man dies in Newton prison.

A Webster County man serving time in the Newton Correctional Facility on charges of lascivious acts with a child has died. 80-year-old Abel M. Rodriguez, Jr. died Monday night, April 21st at the Newton facility. Rodriguez was serving a ten-year prison term for second-degree sexual abuse and lascivious acts with a child. He was arrested in January,2021. The alleged offense happened in August,2020. During his trial in 2022, Rodruguez entered an Alford plea to one count of lascivious acts with a child. An Alford plea is one in which the defendant maintains his innocence but accepts that a jury could find him guilty based on the strength of the state’s case. Under the plea agreement, the second-degree sexual abuse charge was dismissed. Rodriguez began serving his sentence on May 23,2022.