Indiana woman reaches plea deal in baby’s meth-related death
An eastern Indiana woman whose three-month-old son died last year from methamphetamine intoxication has agreed to plead guilty to a neglect charge in the infant’s death.
Child Abuse
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Kids’ Voice hopes to finalize contract with Child Advocates this week
Kids’ Voice of Indiana and Child Advocates are close to inking a deal after the city of Indianapolis announced it would be switching providers of the Guardian Ad Litem and CASA services for the Marion County juvenile court May 1.
GAL/CASA provider change causes anger, confusion
Two Indianapolis nonprofits that serve youngsters in the child welfare system, Child Advocates and Kids’ Voice of Indiana, have been at the center of an argument that many families have had: Who can better care for the youngest members?
Calls to Indiana child abuse hotline down during pandemic
Calls to Indiana’s child abuse and neglect hotline fell by more than 10% last year compared to the previous two years, and an expert said that may reflect the isolation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kids’ Voice, Child Advocates in contract talks after report cited cost overruns
With just three weeks before its contract with the city of Indianapolis ends, Child Advocates is trying to negotiate a subcontract with Kids’ Voice so it can continue providing volunteers and staff to advocate for youngsters in Indiana’s child welfare system. Meanwhile, a report questioned longtime contractor Child Advocates’ cost overruns.
Child Advocates worried for young clients after losing Marion County CASA contract
Child Advocates is asking the city of Indianapolis to delay plans to switch CASA providers until the end of year, citing questions about the transition, the ability of Kids’ Voice to handle the work and concerns over the risk to children.
COA upholds judgment for teens’ doctors on parents’ constitutional claims
Tipton County parents who alleged their children were unconstitutionally treated by doctors while in a grandmother’s care failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that summary judgment for the doctors was inappropriate.
Marion County switches CASA contract from Child Advocates to Kids’ Voice
Kids’ Voice of Indiana, a nonprofit serving children and families, will take over the training and operation of the court-appointed special advocate program in Marion County courts May 1 after the city of Indianapolis switched the contract for the services from Child Advocates.
Sentence in molestation case remanded to include credit time
A man sentenced to serve 25 years in prison on a child molesting conviction has successfully challenged his sentencing judgment that lacked the more than two years of credit time for the period he was behind bars awaiting sentencing.
Appellate panel upholds child molesting conviction despite evidence error
Despite the erroneous admission of evidence related to pornography, a Huntington County man is not entitled to a new trial on his child molesting conviction, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
Boy, 14, faces murder, molesting counts in girl’s death
A 14-year-old boy was charged with murder and child molestation Monday in the asphyxiation death of a 6-year-old girl in northern Indiana, prosecutors said.
Parole revocation affirmed for molester after ‘unapproved’ relationship
A man whose parole from a child molesting sentence was revoked after he had an “unapproved romantic relationship” lost his appeal Tuesday, with the Indiana Court of Appeals holding he confused the conditions of parole and probation revocation.
Justices revise Blickman discipline order in Park Tudor case
The Indiana Supreme Court on Friday amended its order reprimanding Ice Miller employment attorney Michael Blickman, removing language that said he told authorities he didn’t know where images were in a Park Tudor High School sexting scandal between a coach and a student in which Blickman represented the school.
Man sentenced 75 years for bomb threats, extortion
A California man accused of making online threats to bomb two suburban Indianapolis high schools in addition to a slew of other crimes was sentenced Friday by a federal judge to 75 years in prison.
23-year molestation sentence affirmed despite improper aggravator
Despite a trial court improperly considering an aggravating factor that went against a “clear directive” from the Indiana Court of Appeals, a man’s 23-year sentence for molesting his niece was upheld in a Thursday opinion.
Mom who didn’t witness daughter’s sexual abuse can’t recover emotional damages, COA affirms
The mother of a child with severe mental and physical disabilities cannot recover emotional distress damages from the school where her child was sexually abused because the mother did not witness the abuse, the Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed. However, the mother’s claim for economic damages can proceed.
Appeals court upholds mom’s 40-year neglect sentence in toddler’s death
The mother of a child whose boyfriend was sentenced to life in prison without parole in the 18-month-old’s death failed to show in her appeal that she was wrongly convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison for her role in the child’s brutalization and death.
Suit: Siblings claim DCS knew of adoptive parents’ abusive past
Three adults who claim they were abused as children have filed a lawsuit against their adoptive parents as well as the Indiana Department of Child Services and the department’s county director and caseworkers, claiming the state agency and its employees were the “proximate cause of the shocking abuse” that the plaintiffs suffered.
Appeals panel orders sentence reduced in fatal neglect case
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Wednesday ordered a reduction in the sentence of a woman convicted of neglect resulting in the death of two of her children, finding the offense is not a crime of violence as defined by statute.
Lawyers: Inmate set for Tuesday execution is seriously mentally ill, ineligible for death penalty
“Broken before she was born.” That’s how lawyers describe Lisa Marie Montgomery, the only woman on federal death row and the next person scheduled for execution. Her lawyers and advocates who cite her horrific history of childhood abuse and trauma are calling on President Donald Trump to commute her sentence to life without parole or to grant her a reprieve.