Jury finds New Marion man guilty of Child Molesting
Wanda English Burnett - Editor

After a two day trial and five hours of deliberation, a jury convicted Jason Wayne Goddard, 20, of New Marion, of Child Molesting, a Class C Felony.

Prosecutor Ric Hertel had charged Goddard for improperly touching/fondling of his then 6-year-old niece. In court, the jury heard that the child was molested while living on High Street in Versailles sometime during the months of November and December of 2003. They were told the acts took place in the victim's bedroom while she and another sibling were left in the defendant's care.

The victim gave compelling and credible testimony as she took the stand. The victim's father and Indiana State Police Detective Tracy Rohlfing were also witnesses.

The case came to police after the victim's parents told school personnel while at a parent teacher conference in February of 2004. The school notified the Division of Child Services who then directed the case to police. Det. Rohlfing had a tape recorded statement from the defendant saying he admitted to "some inappropriate touching of the child" and felt guilty about it afterwards.

The defendant, represented by Amy Streator, presented four witnesses including Goddard who said he lied to Det. Rohlfing "just to terminate the questioning and get out of the detective's car."

The jury consisted of ten women and two men, who deliberated for nearly five hours before returning a guilty verdict in the case. After that decision was made, they were then instructed to determine whether Goddard was in a position of care, custody and control of the victim. If the jury found that Goddard was in a position of care, custody and control this would be an aggravating factor. It only took a few minutes for the 12 to agree this was an aggravating factor.

Goddard will be sentenced in Ripley County Circuit Court on January 4, 2006, and faces a range of imprisonment from two to eight years.