David G. Kistler
12-31-08

A Kokomo man and former teacher was arrested after hundreds images and videos of child pornography were discovered on a computer he brought in to get repaired, police said. David G. Kistler, 63, turned himself in at the Howard County Jail Tuesday evening after a warrant was issued for his arrest, said Lt. Don Whitehead. Workers at a local computer store contacted police after finding child pornography on the machine's hard drive.

Police investigators discovered hundreds of illicit images and videos. Kistler was preliminarily charged with possession of child pornography.

Workers Find Child Porn On Computer In For Repairs (12/31/08)

Kristi Bennett
12-17-08

A Huntington woman was sentenced to one and a half years with six months reduced for mitigating circumstances and 10 months suspended, 30 days of which on electronic monitoring for child seduction.

On November 17, Kristi Bennett, 30, 1307 North Jefferson Street, admitted in court that sometime between January and May 2008 she was employed by the Huntington County School Corporation as a bus driver. During that time, she met a juvenile male. She admitted that in one instance they met at the movie theatre and during the film she kissed him and allowed him to rub her breasts. All of these acts she engaged in were with intent to arouse her and/or his sexual desires.

State Prosecuting attorney Amy Richison also noted that she brought her daughter and daughter's friend to the theatre that day, although they were sitting apart from Bennett.

Her husband, Travis Bennett testified on her behalf stating that she is the primary caretaker of their four children and believed she was doing everything she can to make this up to her family.

The victim and his mother also wrote letters to the judge, the victim stating that he does not feel victimized by Bennett.

Richison and Judge Tom Hakes both agreed that it was irrelevant and that the law was created to cover the particular niche in which she was an employee of the school system.

Defense Attorney Jill M. Denman asked for the possibility of being given alternative misdemeanor treatment as Bennett is an employee of Advantage Home Healthcare, planning on going to nursing school, and cannot work in medicine with a felony on her record. Judge Hakes said he would take it under consideration after the probation period.

Former bus driver sentenced with child seduction (12/17/08)

John Watts
12-03-08

A man whose profession was to take care of children pleaded guilty Tuesday to repeated sexual misconduct with a minor.

John Watts, a youth minister, teacher, and high school coach in the small town of Hanover, Ind.  accepted a plea agreement in court Tuesday morning.

Now 20 years old, Courtney McHeinity came forward to share her story. "It started when I was in 8th grade, summer," she said. "It's been a long drawn out process. It's been through high school."

McHeinity was a straight A student and athlete with perfect attendance; but she had a dark secret.

"I was obviously a victim of a pedophile," McHeinity said. "It's been really, really hard."

She says her high school pole vault coach, John Watts, had improper sexual contact with her from the time she was 14 until she turned 18.

Sex abuse victim talks about ordeal (12/02/08)
Teacher’s plea bargain in misconduct case rejected (10/09/07)

Dennis Jay
11-18-08

Prosecutors filed charges Tuesday against a former teacher who is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old female student.

Dennis Jay, 36, was charged with felony child seduction. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. Jay taught world history and coached varsity boys’ soccer at Elkhart Memorial High School before taking a position at Elkhart Central High School.

After receiving complaints about the relationship, the Elkhart Community School Board put him on administrative leave in September, then fired him after he continued to text message the girl.

Court documents allege the girl spent time with Jay at his Mishawaka apartment during late evening hours and overnight. A neighbor called police about the visits. After several interviews with police, they say the girl admitted she and Jay had been having sex.

Teacher's noisy sex with student betrays him in Elkhart, Ind. (11/18/08)
Former Elkhart teacher charged with child seduction (11/18/08)

Jose Elizondo II
11-14-08

A teacher's aide and assistant girls track coach at Edison High School in Lake Station has been charged with two counts of having sex with a 15-year-old female student.

Jose Elizondo II, 20, who lists both Lake Station and Merrillville addresses, faces 11 years in prison if convicted of two felony counts of sexual misconduct with a minor.

Elizondo worked full time as a para-professional teacher's aide in the special education department at Edison High School, recently filed Lake County court records say. Edison High School Principal Bruce Busch told investigators that prior to that job, Elizondo was a substitute teacher at Edison, court records say. Elizondo also served as the assistant track coach.

Busch did not return a call Monday from The Times regarding Elizondo's employment status.

The girl's mother called Lake Station police March 27, reporting that her daughter sneaked out of her Lake Station home several times to meet Elizondo, court records say. The girl told her mother she had sexual intercourse with Elizondo at least twice, police allege.

The woman told police she caught her daughter sneaking out of the house in the early morning hours of March 24, court records say. The woman said she then called Elizondo to tell him to stay away from her daughter, and he hung up on her.

Police said the teen told them that the first time she and Elizondo had sex was about two months ago. They were in Elizondo's bedroom watching movies when they started kissing, reports say.

The two discussed the girl's age, she said. Elizondo told the girl it was wrong for them to have sex and asked her if she felt he was forcing her, court records say.

Coach charged with having sex with Edison student (11/14/08)

Brooke Biggs
10-06-08

Prosecutors filed two felony child seduction charges against a Grissom Middle School teacher Friday.

Police arrested Brooke Biggs at an Osceola home Thursday. Biggs teaches seventh and eighth grade PE at Grissom. She also coaches at Penn High School.

PHM says the alleged victim is a 16-year-old female high school student.

The Family Violence/Special Victims Unit started its investigation in July after the teen's parents contacted police.

They had forbidden their daughter from talking to Biggs and took away her cell phone. But they caught her sneaking out to see Biggs.

Court documents allege Biggs bought the girl a new cell phone, and the two exchanged thousands of explicit text messages.

Police say Biggs admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with the girl.

New details revealed in PHM teacher child seduction case (10/03/08)
Penn HS asst. coach charged with child seduction (10/03/08)
Teacher accused of sex crime (10/03/08)
Penn Softball Coach arested (10/02/08

Sheila Vazquez
10-03-08

A Marion Superior Court judge sentenced a former Warren Township teacher to two years on home detention today for an improper relationship with a 15-year-old student.

Sheila Vasquez, 36, was arrested in May and charged with four counts of felony sexual misconduct with a minor. She pleaded guilty this morning to one count in exchange for a maximum eight years in prison.

Prosecutors asked for at least four years in prison, but Court Commissioner Stan Kroh gave Vasquez two years in home detention, followed by four years on sex offender probation. She will have to register as a sex offender.

Vasquez, Fishers, apologized for her conduct and asked for leniency. She has three young children.She resigned from her job teaching eighth grade at the Eastside district’s Renaissance School, 8931 E. 30th St., an alternative school for about 200 students in Grades 6-12. In the spring, the student told authorities that Vasquez engaged in flirtatious behavior with him. Then, the two concocted a plan for Vasquez to take him to her home in the Castleton area May 1 so they could have sex, police said.

Vasquez arranged the trip by telling his foster parents that she was taking the student on a special lunch outing to reward him for recent improvements in classroom performance. She brought along a female student who stayed downstairs during the tryst, prosecutors said.

Teacher sentenced in student sex case (10/03/08)
Teacher pleads not guilty to sex charges (05/16/08)
Charges Filed, Trial Date Set for Teacher Accused of Sex With Student
Teacher Charged With Sexual Misconduct With Minor (05/15/08)
Teacher jailed over sex allegations (05/14/08)
Teacher arrested for sex with 15-year-old student (05/14/08)
Teacher Suspended After Student Reports Sexual Encounter (05/14/08)
Teacher Roster for Renaissance School (10/01/07)

James Ciammetti
09-22-08

Defense attorney Rich Wolter withdrew Monday a bond reduction request for the Clark Middle/High School band teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with one of his students.

James Ciammetti, 41, is charged with five felonies -- two counts of child molesting, two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor and one count of child solicitation -- in Lake Criminal Court.

Police have said Ciammetti and a 14-year-old girl had sex multiple times on the Hammond school's grounds during the course of a 10-month relationship.

The Oak Lawn, Ill., man's alleged activities were discovered by the girl's father, who was using a computer program that tracks his children's activities on the family's computers, court records allege.

Ciammetti and the girl had traded more than 1,100 e-mails, most sexual or obscene in nature, prosecutors said. He had been her band teacher since sixth grade, court records state.

Ciammetti was suspended without pay because of the "seriousness of the situation," Hammond schools Superintendent Walter Watkins said

Clark band teacher’s bond reduction request withdrawn (09/22/08)
Teacher pleads not guilty to having sex with girl (09/15/08)
Clark band teacher accused of fondling girl, 14 (09/05/08)
Prosecutor: Band teacher, student had 10-month relationship (09/05/08)

Luke Musselwhite
09-06-08

A former teacher was arrested today for allegedly sending more than 200 text messages - including some that were sexual in nature - to a student at his school, Indiana State Police said in a news release.

Luke A. Musselwhite, 26, sent the messages in 2007 while he was a teacher at Pike Central High School, the release said. He was arrested on preliminary charges of disseminating harmful material to a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

According to the release, Musselwhite resigned from his teaching position just prior to the start of this school year. Police say the messages were sent to a 17-year-old female student. Musselwhite turned himself in at the Pike County Jail this afternoon, where he later posted a $2,500 cash bond.

Police: Ex-teacher arrested for sending text messages to student (09/02/08)
Ex-Pike School Teacher Arrested (09/02/08)
Pike Central football coach found dead; school dismissed (09/02/08)

John J. Wachel
08-29-08

Prosecutors dropped a criminal charge against John Joseph Wachel, 49, of Hammond, a former Gary Tolleston Middle School physical education teacher accused of fondling a 14-year-old special education student last year.

The motion to dismiss filed Wednesday states prosecutors determined they would be unable to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt after sworn statements were taken from the girl and school-age witnesses. Wachel had been charged in June 2007 with sexual misconduct with a minor, which is punishable by a maximum eight-year prison sentence.

Wachel had been accused of fondling the girl and making a lewd remark on April 26, 2007, in the girl's locker room where she was changing her clothes, the probable cause affidavit states.

Sex charge dropped against former teacher (08/29/08)

Steven Collins
08-01-08

Less than two weeks before he was scheduled to go to trial for alleged sexual misconduct with a minor, a former Penn High School girls rugby coach pleaded guilty to charges.

Steven C. Collins, 27, who originally was scheduled for trial Monday, instead pleaded guilty July 17 to two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, Class B felonies. He will be sentenced Sept. 25 in Elkhart County Superior Court 3. Collins was arrested in March 2007 for allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a 15-year-old rugby club member in a home on Elkhart's west side in June 2006.

Former Penn coach pleads guilty to sexual misconduct charges (07/31/08)

Keith R. Lehocky
05-27-08

A case in the Hamilton County Circuit Court in Noblesville brought against a man accused of child molestation was dismissed by a judge recently.
Keith R. Lehocky, 43, Monticello was arrested in July, 2007 on a Hamilton County warrant charging him with the Class C felony. According to Fishers Police Department reports, Lehocky was taken into custody after an 11-year-old girl accused him of touching her inappropriately during a party in Fishers.

At the time of his arrest, Lehocky was employed as a fourth-grade teacher with the North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation, and was also serving as the President of the Monticello Softball Association.

Stepping down from that post, Lehocky is currently suspended with pay by the school corporation. The next meeting of the North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation is on Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. in the central administration office in North Judson.

Judge dismisses Lehocky charges (08/03/08)
North Judson teacher allegedly molests child (8/04/07)
Man accused of child molestation during party in Fishers
Teacher charged with child molesting (7/17/07)

Gregory Strittmatter
06-30-08

A former assistant softball coach at Indiana Area High School is accused of sending sexually suggestive messages via a cell phone to a 15-year-old student and ex-player.

Gregory Strittmatter, 49, of 513 N. Sixth St., Indiana, was arraigned Thursday in Homer City District Judge Susanne V. Steffee's office on charges of unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of a minor and harassment and stalking.

Ex-softball coach at Indiana high school faces charges (06/28/08)
Coach charged over explicit messages to girl (06/28/08)

Donald Pennington
06-12-08

A former Gary middle school teacher admitted he fondled two girls in the classroom. Donald Pennington, 60, of Gary, pleaded guilty Wednesday before Lake Superior Court Judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr., who took the plea agreement under advisement and scheduled a sentencing hearing for July 23.

Pennington admitted that between Dec. 1, 2006, and March 30, 2007, he fondled the girls, who were 12 and 13 years old at the time. The crimes occurred at Bailly Middle School in Gary, where Pennington was a teacher.

Former teacher given 30 months for sex crime (07/24/08)
Former teacher sentenced for fondling students (07/23/08)
Ex-teacher admits fondling girls (06/12/08)
Ex-Teacher Admits Fondling 2 Girls (06/12/08)
Ex-Gary teacher pleads guilty to fondling 2 girls (06/12/08)

Tommy Thornton
06-02-08

Former teacher and coach Tommy Thornton was booked into the Vigo County jail Thursday after allegations of sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old student were read against him in court.

Thornton, 37, who recently resigned his position as machine trades teacher and varsity boys basketball coach at West Vigo High School, appeared in Vigo Superior Court Division 3, where Judge David Bolk charged him with child seduction, class-D felony, attempted child seduction, class-D felony and public indecency, a class-A misdemeanor.
I’m extremely confident that this will end in a conviction,” stated Vigo County Sheriff’s Department Detective/Sgt. Frank Shahadey, safety and security specialist for the Vigo County School Corp.

Shahadey, lead investigator in the case, said “I just feel really, really bad for the victim and the school corporation.”

Thornton is accused of exposing himself to a 17-year-old female student as well as fondling and rubbing up against her on separate occasions, as well as asking her to “pinky promise” not to tell anyone about the instances and other graphic discussions.

Ex-teacher charged with sexual misconduct (05/22/08)
Former West Vigo teacher appears in court (05/22/08)
Former West Vigo Teacher In Court (05/22/08)
West Vigo basketball head coach steps down (04/28/08)

Scott W. Southerland
05-14-08

A Bloomington man, a former teacher, Scott W. Southerland, 49, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on child porn charges.

While reading from a written statement, he apologized to his parents, to his friends and to an 11-year-old boy whom he videotaped.

He admitted he has had an attraction to young boys since he was a teen but failed to act upon it until 2000 when he got onto the Internet. That statement troubled U.S. District Judge Joe B. McDade, who noted that he worried that Southerland lost control after maintaining for all those years.

Man sentenced for child porn (05/14/08)
Former teacher faces up to 20 years for child porn (01/31/08)
Child porn charges dropped after fed indictment of sub teacher (11/28/07)
Child Porn Suspect Has History at Local Schools (9/14/07)
Child porn suspect was substitute teacher (9/13/07)

Marc Lobdell
05-12-08

Marc Andrew Lobdell, 36, is charged with child solicitation,carrying a standard 18-month prison term, and six misdemeanors: five counts of battery and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Each Class A misdemeanor charge carries a maximum one-year jail term.

Lobell apparently improperly touched five female students, all ages 15 years or younger. he was working as a substitute teacher at Marion's Justice Thurgood Marshall Middle School at the time.

It is said that Lobdell asked a student to perform a sex act in exchange for a ride home.

Ex-substitute teacher’s trial rescheduled for November (07/12/08)
Ex-substitute teacher’s solicitation trial set for July 16 (05/11/08)
Substitute accused of fondling 5 students (11/25/07)
Former Marion substitute teacher arrested for child solicitation (11/23/07)

Ryan D. Allen
04-14-08

A Columbus substitute teacher was arrested Monday after a 17-year-old high school student accused him of engaging in inappropriate behavior with her, Columbus police said.

Indianapolis police arrested Ryan D. Allen, 26, at Carrabba's Italian Grill in southern Marion County, where he was working Monday, police said.
Columbus police said an investigation started in mid-February when the teen approached a police detective who also is an educator at Columbus East High School.

The teen told the detective that Allen had acted inappropriately toward her; details of the allegations weren't released.

Substitute Teacher Arrested On Child Seduction Charge (04/14/08)
Substitute teacher charged with child seduction (04/14/08)

Michael Ashburn
05-02-08

An area middle school teacher is facing several charges involving child solicitation and obscene performances.

At Guion Creek Middle School, 41-year-old Michael Ashburn held a position of trust as a science teacher and coach. He's now charged with sexually explicit conduct on the Internet with someone he thought was the age of one of his students.

According to court papers, Ashburn was using his home computer web cam to perform online sex acts for a 14-year-old girl. What he didn't know was the girl was actually an undercover police officer.

Teacher facing charges for online sex acts (05/03/08)

Mark Yarmey
04-03-08

A New Albany school teacher has been charged with sex crimes. Police say the crimes were committed against an 11-year-old girl.

It allegedly happened 9 years ago, but now new evidence has lead to his arrest.

52-year old Mark Yarmey was arrested Wednesday night, at this home where the alleged crimes took place in 1999. During that entire time, he spent nearly every day in a classroom in New Albany surrounded by children.

The descriptions in the police report are horrifying.  The charges include forcible sodomy and use of a minor in a sexual performance. A relative of the victim tells us Yarmey met the young girl in church.

Prosser teacher indicted for sodomy, other charge (04/15/08)
New Albany teacher charged with sex crimes against 11-year-old girl (04/03/08)
Southern Indiana teacher jailed on charges of sexually abusing a minor (04/03/08)
Teacher Arrested On Sex Abuse Charges (04/03/08)
New Albany teacher charged in Louisville sex case (04/03/08)

Kristopher Sennett
02-27-08

Wayne High School's assistant principal is charged with a sex crime. Fort Wayne Community School administrators have also finished their investigation surrounding an alleged student-teacher love affair. Nicole Pence has details.

Fort Wayne Police arrested 36-year old Kristopher Sennett late Wednesday afternoon. He's the assistant principal that was suspended with pay last week after admitting to police he was "having a relationship" with a 17-year old junior.

Sennett faces two counts of child seduction, and the Fort Wayne Police Dept. is still investigating. The assistant principal's been working at Wayne High School for the last two years. Tuesday, FWCS released a slew of emails the assistant principal wrote to the teenage girl, while he was at work during a snow day.

Ex-official admits sex with student (07/19/08)
Ex-assistant principal admits child seduction (07/18/08)
Assistant principal charged with child seduction fired (3/25/08)
Thursday Noon Update: Asst. Principal still in Jail (2/28/08)
Asst. Principal Charged (2/27/08)
Former Indy Teacher Arrested On Child Seduction Charges (2/27/08)
Asst. Principal charged: Child Seduction (2/27/08)
E-mails Released By School System (In PDF format)

Brian D. Hindson
02-07-08

A Kokomo High School swimming coach told investigators he hid video cameras in locker rooms at two schools, a confession that came after someone alleged finding videos of a naked female teen on a computer the coach had sold, the FBI said in an affidavit.

Authorities didn't find those videos, but it did find eight child pornography videos not linked to the schools during a search of Brian D. Hindson's home Tuesday, according to the affidavit filed in federal court.

Hindson, 40, of Westfield, who also leads the Westfield-based Central Indiana Aquatics swim club, was arrested Thursday on a federal charge of child pornography possession relating to the videos found at his home, the U.S. Department of Justice said

U.S. Attorney’s Press Release (2/07/08) (in PDF format)
Authorities: Swim Coach Hid Cameras In Locker Rooms (2/07/08)
Kokomo H.S. swim coach investigated for child porn (2/07/08)
Kokomo swim coach faces child-porn charges (2/07/08)
Swim coach faces child-porn charges (2/07/08)