Otterman gets jail time
GREENCASTLE -- A Greencastle woman has been handed a three-year sentence after being convicted on three Class D felony counts of neglect of a dependent.
Putnam County Circuit Court Judge Matthew Headley ordered Amy Otterman (formerly Reed), 28, to spend one year in prison and two years on home detention.
After her release from house arrest, Otterman will spend three years on probation.
Putnam County Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter lobbied to get Otterman more prison time. He asked for a nine-year sentence with six executed in prison.
"The state respects the court's decision, but strongly disagrees with the sentence imposed in this case," Bookwalter said. "Ms. Otterman placed her small children in jeopardy. Additionally, she has a lengthy criminal record."
Otterman was initially arrested and charged in October 2008 with two counts of Class C felony neglect of a dependent, two Class C felony contributing to the delinquency of a minor, three counts of Class D felony neglect of a dependent and a Class B misdemeanor count of interfering with a drug or alcohol screening test after her then 1-year-old and 3-month-old daughters tested positive for methamphetamine, methadone, cocaine and marijuana.
In accordance with the terms of a plea in the case, several of the charges against Otterman were dismissed.
Bookwalter said Otterman's case had the potential to be precedent setting.
"This is the first time in Putnam County that a child has tested positive for meth," he said.
Bookwalter said the state agreed to a plea in the case because, as the investigation went on, it was revealed that Otterman had not administered the drugs to her daughters, but that the children had found and ingested them on their own.
Otterman's case was continued several times. On June 14, Otterman pled guilty to the three neglect counts.
Otterman was in jail for several months before being released in January 2009 to pursue independent outpatient drug treatment. Several months later, she was granted permission by the court to transfer into a drug rehabilitation program in Putnam County, which she completed.
Otterman had been submitting to random court-ordered drug tests since her release from jail. She had also maintained employment.
Bookwalter said to his knowledge, Reed has not failed any of her drug screens since completing treatment.
Otterman was pregnant when she was arrested, and gave birth to her third child, a boy, in February 2009. That child was in her care from birth, and her daughters, who were initially put in the care of family members, were returned to Otterman.
Otterman's criminal past in Putnam County includes convictions in 2000 for theft of license plates and battery. She has also been convicted or has served jail time for a number of felony and misdemeanor offenses -- including theft, intimidation, battery, resisting law enforcement and check deception -- in Montgomery and Fountain counties.