BEDFORD- A jury trial took place from September 10 to 12, 2024, in Lawrence County Superior Court 1 for Joseph Thomas, 39, who faced ten felony charges, including Class A felony child molestation. He was found guilty on all counts, and his sentencing was held today, October 3, 2024. He was sentenced to 180 years in prison.
Honorable Judge John Plummer III presided over the court. Chief Deputy Prosecutor Joshua K. Scherschel and Senior Deputy Prosecutor Sarah Cummings represented the State of Indiana. Timothy Sledd and Daniel Dixon represented Joseph Thomas from the Lawrence County Public Defender office.
After convening the court session and establishing the basis for the hearing, Judge Plummer asked if anyone in attendance would like to present a victim impact statement. Two individuals addressed the court with statements.
The defense argued for mitigating circumstances, citing Thomas’s lack of criminal activity since the events last took place in 2009, his job, and his consistent work. They also spoke about how 15 years have passed since the crimes happened and how the defendant is a different man.
“The court does not agree with the defense,” Judge Plummer said of the mitigating circumstance, “you are expected to live within the law.”
“The aggravating circumstance,” Judge Plummer added, “These children were in the care of Mr. Thomas when these crimes occurred. It was his job to protect them; instead, he violated them.”
Judge Plummer then deliberated privately for a short period, and when the court reconvened, he handed down the following sentence:
Counts 1-6, Class A felony child molesting: 30 years per count
Counts 7 and 8, Class B felony incest: 10 years per count, to be served concurrently with counts 1-6.
Counts 9 and 10, Class C felony criminal confinement: 4 years per count, to be served concurrently with counts 1-6.
That amounts to 180 years of incarceration, with one day earned for every four days spent on good behavior. If he is ever released, he is ordered to register on the violent sex offender registry for life.
Thomas stated he would appeal the sentencing.
His crimes are detailed below and taken from WBIW’s earlier publication on the proceedings.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by ISP Detective Stacy Brown, on May 19, 2020, police were alerted by the Department of Child Services that a 15-year-old female was a victim of repeated sexual assault by her uncle. The girl said she also witnessed Thomas assault her sister.
The first victim told police and a therapist during an interview at Susie’s Place, a child advocacy center in Bloomington, that her mother did not know about the incidents. She had tried over the years to block out the facts of the incidents in a home in Mitchell and in a house where Thomas lived with his mother.
She told police the assaults began when she was around four or five and continued until she was 13.
She told police the incidents happened while Thomas babysat her and her sister while their parents worked. The girls told police Thomas always had pornography magazines and would watch pornography movies and videos on his phone or computer. One of those movies was about a man having sex with his niece and telling the girl, “This is what family does.”
One of the females told police she would try and get away from Thomas, but he was “bigger and stronger than her and would keep her there.”
She also told police Thomas did the same thing to her older sister. That sister also shared with police how Thomas had violated her.
The older girl told police that when Thomas showed her the movies, he would tell her, “This is what people do to show love and feel good.” He would also play “games” that he made up. One game included tying up both girls with duct tape to chairs. He would then place a cell phone on the floor and tell them they could call 911 for help if they could get free. The older girl told police she ended up biting through the tape, and when she went to grab the phone, Thomas took it from her.
The girl told police Thomas was a drug user and was violent, and she was afraid if she resisted or told anyone, he would hurt her or her sister.
Both girls told police that the incidents had stopped once they moved to a house in Yockey Estates.
When police interviewed Thomas, he admitted to touching both girls, but he said the girls had forced him to do it. He told police if he did not do what the girls told him, they would tell their father that he had them touch him inappropriately. Joseph said he hated to use the term “blackmailed” because they were children but that he was forced to do certain things.
Thomas told police he was glad this was finally brought to light so he could move past it. He stated he thought the girls had forgotten about it since it had been so long. Thomas told police that he was bothered by what the girls had done to him, and disclosing it helped.
