Moffatt
A Jonesville woman originally charged with rape and promoting human trafficking has been allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge.
If Christina L. Moffatt, 28, had been convicted of the original felonies, she could be facing up to 28-years in prison.
But those charges were dropped as part of a plea bargain in Bartholomew Circuit Court on Thursday after Moffatt agreed to plead guilty to promoting prostitution as a Level 5 felony. She’s now facing a potential sentence of one to six years in prison, with an advisory sentence of three years.
Under the agreement, Judge Kelly Benjamin will be allowed to decide the appropriate punishment for Moffatt. While sentencing is currently set for 9 a.m. on Oct. 3, there may be a jury trial underway at the same time. If the trial proceeds, sentencing will be delayed until 10:45 a.m. on Oct. 24, the judge said.
Although public defender Joseph Villanueva told the court last month that a plea bargain with an alternative charge was coming, Benjamin said she was unaware of the exact details until a six-page waiver of rights, along with the new charge, was presented to her Thursday morning.
In Washington Circuit Court in Salem, Moffatt is facing the same charge of promoting prostitution that she pleaded guilty to this week in Columbus. She’s scheduled for a pretrial conference before Judge Larry Medlock at 9 a.m. on Oct. 10, with a jury trial on the calendar for Jan. 7.
Moffatt and her co-defendants, Christopher S. Lovell, 42, and Brandon A. Jacobs, 38, had lived with the female victim in Jonesville, investigators said. Court records state Lovell is also charged with battering the woman while she was pregnant on April 27.
The victim was diagnosed as having the mental capacity of a toddler, and therefore unable to consent to a sexual relationship, a probable cause affidavit states.
Nevertheless, the woman was frequently transported by the three co-defendants to Salem in a $600 a month arrangement with a fourth co-defendant, Jon Arnold. The victim was handed over to the 66-year-old Arnold, so he could forcibly subject her to sexual acts, the affidavit states.
In Bartholomew Circuit Court, Arnold is charged with rape when the victim is mentally disabled or deficient as a Level 3 felony, and human trafficking as a Level 4 felony. He is scheduled for a change of plea hearing at 9 a.m. on Monday. A tentative trial date of Oct. 8 has also been scheduled.
But in Washington County, Arnold is charged with 12 counts of rape as Level 3 felonies when the victim is mentally deficient or disabled. He’s also charged with one count of human trafficking as a Level 4 felony. If convicted of all charges filed in Salem, Arnold could receive a sentence of more than 200 years in prison.
His change of plea hearing or pre-trial conference before Washington Superior Judge Dustin L. Houchin is scheduled for Sept. 30, with a jury trial tentatively set at 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 21.
While not facing charges in Salem, both Lovell and Jacobs are charged locally with rape when the victim is mentally disabled or deficient as a Level 3 felony — and promotion of human sexual trafficking as a Level 4 felony.
In Columbus, Lovell’s pretrial conference or change of plea hearing is on the calendar for 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 18, with a jury trial tentatively set to begin Dec. 13. For Jacobs, the change of plea hearing or pretrial conference is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 18. If the defendant still insists he’s not guilty, Jacobs will go on trial at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 3.
