Rockville man sentenced to six years in sex misconduct case

Friday, October 14, 2016

A 49-year-old Parke County man who admitted having sexual relations with a 14-year-old female employee he hired has been sentenced to six years in the Indiana Department of Correction.

Donald Troy Jr. of Rockville, who pleaded guilty back in August to the Level 5 felony charge of sexual misconduct with a minor, was sentenced Wednesday by Putnam Superior Court Judge Denny Bridges to six years in the DOC with five years executed and one year suspended and on probation.

As part of his sentence, Troy also must register as a sex offender and complete a sex offender class. He was also ordered to have no contact with his victim, whom he hired to help at his Heritage Lake Marina boat shop.

Donald Troy

Under questioning by defense attorney James Holder, Troy told the court he had sexual relations with the teenager despite knowing that to be wrong.

"I feel horrible for the embarrassment I've caused her and her family," he said, adding that his actions also had adverse effects on "my wife, my dad, my whole family and my business."

Holder tried to introduce into evidence a rather risqué photo of the victim from her Facebook page. Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter quickly objected.

"Let's be frank," the prosecutor said, "you want to present her as some sleazy girl."

Judge Bridges was having none of it.

"I don't need to know what she looks like," he said, giving the photo back to Holder.

According to the victim's statement within the probable cause affidavit, she and Troy had sex multiple times beginning in June 2015, shortly after she began working for him. She told Prosecutor's Office Investigator David Meadows the incidents continued through April of this year, shortly before the charges were first reported to the Department of Child Services.

The victim told investigators she and Troy had sex almost every time she worked.

According to the presentence investigation, Troy tried to justify his actions by telling his counselor, "the girl flirted with me and I have low self-esteem."

"I can see the mistake of doing it once," Bookwalter told the defendant, "but you kept doing it over a whole year. Didn't you ever think, 'This is wrong, maybe I should stop doing it?'"

Troy's wife, Rachel, whom he married May 26, took the stand and said she "hated" what he did.

"I think he should be punished," she said, "what he did was wrong."

But that did not necessarily mean going to prison, she reasoned.

Defense attorney Holder asked, "You think that Community Corrections, going to work every day with an ankle bracelet and supporting the family is good enough?"

"I do," she said.

Arguing for a lesser sentence (a Level 5 felony has a range of 1-6 years with an advisory sentence of three years), Holder suggested "the knee-jerk reaction to hearing child molestation or sex with a child is to 'throw the book at him.' But at the end of the day, the advisory sentence is three years, the minimum one year and the maximum six."

Holder said the court "heard nothing of aggravating circumstances" that would lend themselves to a tougher sentence.

"Mr. Troy stands before this court having pled guilty to a Level 5 felony, having no criminal record," he said. "What does the victim get by him going to prison as a first-time offender and losing all his resources? I say nothing.

"Do not punish him only because of the nature of the charge," Holder stressed. "The victim doesn't get any benefit from him going to prison, and society picks up the tab."

Bookwalter, however, said several aggravators did exist in the case, including Troy being in a position of trust and authority, the young age of the victim and that the defendant was charged with one count of sexual misconduct but there were repeated acts over the course of time.

"He's done much worse than what he has been charged with," the prosecutor said.

Bookwalter also took exception to Holder's contention that Troy going to prison wouldn't benefit the victim.

"If he goes to prison," the prosecutor said, "she's going to feel somewhat vindicated."

In pronouncing sentence, Judge Bridges said he took several aggravators into consideration, including Troy's request that the young woman send him nude or suggestive photos, that he offered her $1,000 to "lie for him" and that Troy had been twice charged with crimes that were dismissed and reportedly made advances on two other young victims he "was grooming," Bridges said.

"This was one incident that lasted 11 months," the judge said before issuing his sentence of six years in the DOC with five years executed time.

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