Second NPHS child seduction subject gets two years in DOC

Friday, February 8, 2013
Nicholas Vester

The second of three former North Putnam High School staff members charged with child seduction involving the same 16-year-old male student was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison in the scandal that rocked the school and community little more than a year ago.

Former NPHS interim Spanish teacher Nicholas Vester, 25, Lafayette, was sentenced by Putnam Circuit Court Judge Matthew Headley to two years in the Indiana Department of Correction.

The first year of Vester's sentence is to be served in prison, Headley ruled (with the final three months possibly through Community Corrections if he qualifies), and the remaining year on probation.

Vester, who was represented by attorney Darrell Felling, had entered a straight guilty plea (with no plea deal) to child seduction, a Class D felony, in the case. The charge carries a maximum sentence of three years.

Judge Headley's sentence included Vester's ordered listing on the sex offender registry for 10 years, a no-contact order with anyone age 16 or under and revocation of his Indiana teacher's license.

"There have to be some consequences," Judge Headley suggested, for a teacher who violates the trust of a child under his supervision in such a manner.

Headley, whose mother is a retired longtime teacher and whose wife teaches second grade and guards against student contact even at that level, stressed that the issue was about protecting children.

"This isn't about punishing someone because they're gay," Headley assured.

"When I drop my kids off at school every day," the judge said, "I expect the teacher to teach my child facts, not to teach my child about sex, and not to be a predator."

After listening to Vester's supporters tell about how much he loved teaching and how he hoped to resume that career some day, Judge Headley was incredulous.

"I hope you never get your teacher's license back," he said. "You don't deserve that."

Putnam County Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter agreed with Headley's ruling, noting that the overriding aggravating circumstance was that the victim's father had complained to school officials, and North Putnam officials warned Vester about his concerns. Yet the incidents continued.

"I concur with the judge," Bookwalter added, "that we have to draw a severe line when such a case involves a teacher."

"He (Vester) was obviously the worst offender of the three as far as their actions go," Prosecutor Bookwalter said after the sentencing.

In December, ex-NPHS band director Craig E. Rogers, 25, Indianapolis, was sentenced by Headley to 18 months in the DOC with six months to be served in prison and the remaining year on probation. Rogers had entered a guilty plea to child seduction in a plea agreement with the Prosecutor's Office.

Still left to face child seduction charges in the case is Brandon D. Largent, 21, Crawfordsville, a paid lifeguard and volunteer swim instructor who was employed at North Putnam from November 2011 through spring 2012.

Although all three defendants faced the same charge of child seduction, court records indicate they shared varying levels of involvement with the teenage victim.

While Rogers was accused of fondling the teenager in an incident at the school, Largent's allegedly contact with the victim reportedly included kissing the boy in a North Putnam classroom.

Vester, meanwhile, was accused of engaging in "deviant sexual conduct," including anal intercourse and oral sex, "with the intent to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires" of himself or the victim.

Their first encounter was reportedly in a furniture store parking lot in Lafayette. The lone incident of intercourse reportedly occurred when Vester and the victim left school, drove to a secluded area in northern Putnam County, had sex, and returned to NPHS, Prosecutor Bookwalter pointed out.

Under Indiana law, there is apparently little difference in the degree of activity.

"The age of consent in Indiana is 16," Bookwalter said, "unless you are a teacher or in an advisory position at a school, which makes it child seduction."

Court documents in the case also reported a connection between Vester and Rogers. Authorities said Vester "not only knew Mr. Rogers (but) that they had a date together in November or December 2011, and had talked about (the victim)."

Vester made Rogers aware of the victim and his apparent vulnerability, Bookwalter added.

The victim's father also addressed the court Thursday as he did at the Rogers' hearing, saying he doesn't believe Vester is remorseful.

"My son is very, very small, almost pubescent," he added, saying Vester came to him "as a predator."

"An adult preying on a child is exactly what it was," the victim's father said, noting that the "most egregious of the acts took place after he (Vester) was warned by school officials to stay away (from the boy)."

The situation spiraled out of control, the father said, after Vester and Rogers dated each other and then "conspired to meet" the victim.

The encounters between the school personnel and the teenager occurred both on and off school property, the investigation showed, over a period from November 2011 through January 2012.

The case came to light in January 2012 when the boy and his family contacted authorities.

No new court date has been set for Largent.