A Starke County man who admitted to Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall that actions considered to be sexual in nature occurred with a teenaged female victim about 100 times in a four year period was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court Thursday morning.
Adam Fritz, 31, pleaded guilty in a plea agreement negotiated between Defense Attorney Blair Todd and Starke County Prosecuting Attorney Leslie Baker to one count of child molesting as a Class A Felony and one count of sexual misconduct with a minor as a Level 4 Felony. The acts that produced the Class A felony charge occurred between Aug. 19, 2013 and July 14, 2014 when the victim was less than 14 years of age. The acts that are listed in the charge of sexual misconduct with a minor as a Level 4 Felony occurred between July 1, 2014 and June 28, 2018.
In a discretionary sentence, Judge Hall found that the aggravating factor of the frequency of the acts in a four year period and the residual effects of mistrust between Fritz and the victim, his step-daughter, far outweigh the mitigating factors. Hall did find that Fritz’s decision to plead guilty to the charges and spare the victim more trauma of testifying in open court was a mitigating factor, along with his statement of remorse during Thursday’s hearing, his cooperation with police during the course of the investigation, and his lack of criminal history prior to the commission of these crimes.
Judge Hall stated the victim submitted a five-page statement to the court that described the effect the acts had on her life and unbearable pain she suffered and will continue to suffer.
Per the terms of the plea agreement, it was negotiated between the defense and the state that the sentencing cap would be 40 years. On the child molesting count, Judge Hall sentenced Fritz to 40 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections and on the count of sexual misconduct with a minor, Fritz was sentenced to 12 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections. The sentences will be served concurrently, or at the same time. No part of the sentence was suspended.
Fritz was also ordered to enter into a sex offender treatment program while serving time in prison. If Fritz successfully completes the training, Judge Hall may consider modifying the sentence.
