SAC CITY — A pair of brothers will spend the next decade in prison for allegedly sexually abusing a single juvenile victim.

John Eldon Wunschel, 42, and Eugene Fred Wunschel, 45, both entered Alford pleas to one count each of lascivious acts with a child, a Class C felony. 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.

According to court documents, the alleged offenses occurred between February 2020 and April 2021. Both brothers were initially charged with two counts of third-degree sexual abuse and one count of lascivious acts. Under the plea agreement with the Sac County Attorney’s Office, the charges of sexual abuse were dismissed.

On Monday, Chief District Court Judge Adria Kester sentenced both men to serve up to 10 years in prison and life on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry. Upon release from prison, both men will be under supervision as if on parole for the remainder of their lives.

The cases were prosecuted by Sac County Attorney Ben Smith and investigated by the Sac County Sheriff’s Office, Sac City Police Department and Lake View Police Department.

Eugene Wunschel had previously been convicted of third-degree sexual abuse in Buena Vista County in 2006.