DES MOINES, Iowa — A Saylor Township man received a life sentence on Friday for kidnapping and sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in 2021.

On Nov. 11, 2021 Michael D. Dunbar, 65, approached the victim and offered her a ride while she was inside a store and waiting for a bus. Instead of taking the victim to her destination, Dunbar drove her to a different location and sexually assaulted her in the vehicle before she eventually escaped.

Dunbar has had multiple prior sexual abuse convictions. In August 1992 Dunbar was convicted of third-degree sexual abuse and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He served approximately five years of his sentence before he was granted work release in 1997 and then paroled in Nov. 1998. In 2002 Dunbar was convicted of lascivious acts with a child and was sentenced to 5 years in prison, but he was later released in 2004 after serving almost 2 years of his sentence.

Dunbar’s prior convictions enhanced his charges in this case to Class A felonies of first-degree kidnapping and second-degree sexual abuse, allowing for a life sentence without the possibility of parole, the Polk County Attorney’s Office said.