14-Year Sentence Handed Out In Child Molesting Case
Posted
Michael Anderson-manderson@timesuniononline.com
A Claypool man will serve up to 14 years in prison for child molestation. Jonathen Lovelace, 23, of 2669 W. CR 700S, was sentenced to 16 years in Kosciusko?Superior Court I on Thursday morning. Lovelace was convicted on Jan. 19 of child molestation, shortly after the jury found him to be a habitual offender. The habitual offender status results from two prior felony convictions, one for unauthorized entry of a vehicle in Douglas County, Ga., and armed robbery in Kosciusko County. Lovelace was playing games with a 5-year-old girl when he had her play a game called “beautiful girls and handsome boys,” where Lovelace had the girl put her hand on his private area, according to court records. Judge David Cates sentenced Lovelace to 10 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections on the child molestation, with two years suspended with probation. On the habitual offender enhancement, Cates sentenced Lovelace to six years, to be served consecutively to the other sentence. Cates expressed hope Lovelace might be able to change his ways. “You are a young man, there is still hope for you,” he said. The girl’s mother read a statement in court. “It’s hard to put into words the pain you’ve brought to our family,” she said. During the trial, the girl’s mother testified that Lovelace had come into their lives looking for her husband, Lovelace’s estranged father. She said Lovelace and her daughter became best friends and playmates. Lovelace took advantage of the trust he had built, she said. “I’m scared to think of how far it would have gone if my daughter wouldn’t have had enough guts to tell me what happened,” she said. She said that her daughter still wakes in the middle of the night and wants to talk about what happened her. Her daughter told her she is mad and sad all the time and doesn’t know if she can ever trust anyone again. Lovelace will get 107 days credit for time served.? He will have to register as a sex offender.
