POLK COUNTY, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – State regulators have revoked the license of a registered nurse who provided home health care for disabled children before being arrested on child-pornography charges. In October, the Iowa Board of Nursing issued an emergency order suspending the license of registered nurse Kenneth Wayne Clark of Ankeny. The order was based on a disciplinary charge that Clark had engaged in unethical behavior and engaged in practices that are harmful or detrimental to the public by acting in a manner that is contradictory to professional decorum.

Court records show that on Aug. 1, 2025, Wayne’s home and vehicle were searched by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office alleges it found methamphetamine, psilocybin mushrooms, and marijuana, as well as multiple pieces of drug paraphernalia — including glass pipes, bongs and storage containers for marijuana and methamphetamine. One month later, on Sept. 9, 2025, Ankeny police alleged that from March 1, 2025, to July 30, 2025, Clark knowingly and unlawfully downloaded or possessed on his cellphone videos that are “consistent with child sexual abuse material.”

Prosecutors have charged Clark with 10 counts of purchasing or possessing the depiction of a minor engaged in a sex act. Police records indicate there are more than “2,600 unclassified videos and 60,511 images” at issue in the case, including at least 50 videos “consistent with child sex abuse material” that were allegedly downloaded onto the phone.

The court then issued a no-contact order against Clark barring any contact with minors. The Board of Nursing alleged the no-contact order was particularly relevant to its emergency order in that Clark was “doing in-home care for disabled children” prior to his arrest.

A trial on the criminal charges is scheduled for March 23, 2026.