Christopher Detrick, 38, pleaded guilty to the offense on Aug. 30 in Marshall County Superior Court 1, just four days before his trial by jury was to begin. During that hearing, Detrick admitted to molesting a 7-year-old girl. The victim, her mother and her sister were living with Detrick at the time. The acts occurred between February 2011 through March 2012.
At the sentencing hearing held Thursday, Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Nelson Chipman presented the child’s video recorded statement as she was interviewed by a representative of the Casie Center in South Bend. The mother of the victim also read an impact statement to the court.
In Chipman’s argument to the court, he asked that the maximum sentence be given to Detrick based on the repeated occurrences and the young age of the victim. Detrick’s attorney argued for a portion of the sentence to be suspended and asked that counseling be included.
Judge Robert O. Bowen sided with the prosecution and handed down the maximum sentence allowed under the law which is 20 years. No part of the sentence was suspended. Judge Bowen also ordered the sentence to be credit time restricted which requires that at least 80 percent of the actual sentence be served in prison.
Upon his release from prison, Detrick will be required to register as a violent sex offender for the remainder of his life.
