The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling from Starke Circuit Court involving a child molestation charge.
Starke Circuit Judge Kim Hall found Jeffery Shidler guilty of child molesting as a Class C felony at the conclusion of a May 7, 2015 bench trial. The charge stems from a June 11, 2014 incident in San Pierre involving a 10-year-old girl. Shidler was caught “massaging her butt,” according to court documents.
During the trial, the youngster testified Shidler touched her “booty” and grabbed her thigh with both hands. She said she felt “strange” and had tried to scoot over, but Shidler grabbed her thighs harder and she had not been able to move away from him. That’s when another adult entered the room and intervened. He told the girl’s mother, who contacted the police.
Shidler contends there was not sufficient evidence to convict him of child molesting because there was not any evidence he touched the girl with the intent to arouse or satisfy his sexual desires. He claims he only touched her for four seconds and she was clothed during that entire time.
The court concluded Shidler had intent to arouse or satisfy his sexual desires, and therefore committed child molesting. His four-year sentence to the Indiana Department of Correction stands.
