Legal Question in Criminal Law in Iowa

Re: newspaper said charged, no charges filed

You should determine how the newspaper learned of the potential charge. Typically the reporter will routinely search the records of the local Clerk of Court's office for charges that are filed and then report them in the paper. You could either check with the local Clerk of Court, or you can check a website called Iowa Courts On-line to see if any charges have actually been filed. You could also call the reporter. It also seems very odd to me that the officer would tell you that its undercover and he wants to talk to your son. This usually means the officer wants someone to assist in the arrest and prosecution of others. If your son's name has been in the paper, he would be rather useless to law enforcement to work undercover for them, not to mention potentially dangerous for your son.