Former Greencastle superintendent cleared of indecency charges
A jury recently found a former Greencastle Community School Corp. superintendent innocent of public indecency and nudity in a public park.
John R. Coomer, 69, was acquitted in Johnson County Circuit Court of the two Class A misdemeanor charges.
Coomer was arrested in Greenwood in October 2007. According to court documents, he exposed and then fondled himself in the presence of an undercover Greenwood police officer in the bathroom of a public park.
Police were conducting a sex sting in the park, and Coomer was arrested in a sweep there.
Coomer was offered plea agreements, but chose to go to trial. The jury took less than a day to return a not guilty verdict on both counts.
"In the months that followed (my arrest), I had opportunities to enter into plea agreements, but each of them had an element of admission of guilt," Coomer said. "I refused to admit guilt to anything I did not do. Rather, I insisted on a trial by jury."
Coomer said his arrest was "trumped up" and made "by a very questionable Greenwood policeman who was willing to lie to make an arrest."
Coomer now resides in Greenwood. In addition to Greencastle, he has worked in administration at the Monroe County School Corp. as well as at schools in Crawfordsville and Tipton.