Tyler Hardwick sentenced to 55 years for abusing a minor relative over two years.

Tyler Hardwick, 33, of Des Moines, was sentenced to 55 years in prison after pleading guilty via an Alford plea to 10 counts of second-degree sexual abuse and one count of incest involving a minor. The sentence, handed down by Polk County District Judge Joseph Seidlin on October 30, 2025, requires Hardwick to serve at least 35 years due to Iowa’s mandatory minimums and to register as a sex offender for life. The charges stemmed from multiple incidents over a two-and-a-half-year period. Originally facing 21 counts of sexual abuse and one count of incest, Hardwick entered the plea after a mistrial and a second trial began in August 2024. Prosecutors sought a 255-year sentence, citing lasting trauma, while defense attorneys requested concurrent sentences. The judge ordered the incest charge and one abuse count to run consecutively, with the rest concurrent.