BEDFORD – Lawrence County Prosecutor Sam Arp is proceeding with charges against Cherry Blattert – new trial date set.
She is facing charges of neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury and domestic battery. She is also facing a charge of invasion of privacy after violating the protective order by contacting her children.
A Lawrence County Superior Court I jury found her husband Scott Blattert guilty in May 2023. Judge John Plummer III sentenced him to serve 13 years in prison after being convicted of violently beating his children with industrial glue sticks and a belt.
“My actions were in response to their actions,” Scott Blattert said during his sentencing. “I am allowed by God to discipline my children. I should not have been found guilty…. everything is justified before God. I accept the court’s opinion.”
Blattert is appealing his conviction.
Cherry Blattert testified during her husband’s trial. She waived her Fifth Amendment rights before testifying – meaning anything she says could or will be used against her in her criminal case.
During her husband’s trial, she testified the couple have 11 children The children are all currently living with two foster families. One family has the couple’s five older children and the other has the couple’s six younger children.
“Religion is very important to us – God is sovereign in all parts of our life,” she said. “He is in control of everything. The Lord is everything. We strictly adhere to the Bible.”
Cherry testified that Scott is the head of their household.
“The husband is the head of the house. He is the primary provider,” she added. “His responsibility is to protect from physical and spiritual threats. We believe there are influences contrary to God that are harmful to the family. Spirits that can influence the family.”
“We are not dealing with Earthly powers but spiritual forces,” she added. “We are both seeking God’s word. Scott is the head of the household and I respect how he wants to run the home.”
The couple previously attempted to use Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act as a defense in this case, arguing that physical punishment of children is outlined in the Bible in references to the Rod of Correction. This defense was struck down by Lawrence County Superior Court I Judge John Plummer III, a decision which Blattert appealed in the Indiana Court of Appeals. That court ultimately upheld, affirming Judge Plummer’s decision.
Blattert and his wife, Cherry, also filed a lawsuit against Indiana DCS, claiming the department’s decision to remove their children from their home violated their religious freedoms. Blattert’s case against DCS was dismissed on June 9, 2022, by Monroe Circuit Court IV Judge Catherine Stafford.
Cherry Blattert has a status conference scheduled for 1 p.m. on October 16th before Judge Plummer.
A three-day jury trial is scheduled to begin on January 17, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. in Lawrence County Superior Court I with Judge Plummer presiding.
