Young
A Bartholomew County man accused of inflicting injuries on a toddler has been sentenced in Bartholomew Circuit Court.
Thomas Michael Young, 35, of 6505 N. County Road 300W had been charged with domestic battery with serious bodily injury to a person under 14 as a Level 3 felony. Had he been found guilty of that charge in Bartholomew Circuit Court, Young could have been sentenced to up to 16 years with the Indiana Department of Correction.
Judge Kelly Benjamin, as well as the prosecution and defense, agreed to drop that charge. In exchange, Young agreed to plead guilty to an amended lesser charge of neglect of a dependent that places the dependent in a dangerous situation. The charge is a Level 6 felony – the least severe type of felony in Indiana.
On July 4, 2022, the boy was taken to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, where it was determined that he suffered a broken femur, a broken arm, and several bruises.
In an order signed Wednesday, Benjamin sentenced Young to serve 18 months on probation within a Community Corrections program. While on probation, Young will be forbidden from possessing or using any firearm, destructive device or dangerous weapon. He has also been ordered to have no direct contract with the child or his mother. The agreement states Young has also given up the right to appeal because it involves a fully negotiated and agreed upon plea with the state.
The defendant has also been ordered to pay $489 in various fees, as well as $50 a month while on probation.
Court officials involved in the case did not comment on why the most serious charge was dropped. However, the probable cause affidavit states Young did not confess to any crime and there were no eyewitnesses.
Although the defendant admitted spanking the boy with an open hand, he told police it was never on bare skin, the affidavit states. Young also said the boy’s mother, who immigrated from Columbia earlier this year with her son at Young’s request, also spanked the child, according to the court document. The mother, who was the defendant’s sole accuser, had provided conflicting statements to investigators during two interviews conducted nearly three weeks apart.
Young will be back in Benjamin’s courtroom at 8:45 a.m. on Nov. 4 for a change of plea hearing on a separate charge of invasion of privacy by violating a protective order, a Class A misdemeanor. If the defendant is found guilty, it could result in up to one year in jail and a fine of $5,000.
