Man who beat son with golf clubs gets eight years in DOC

A 37-year-old Morgan County man who beat his teenage son with a golf club was sentenced to eight years in the Indiana Department of Correction after pleading guilty Tuesday to three felonies.

In a plea agreement, Toby D. Curry, Mooresville, pled guilty in Putnam Superior Court to battery resulting in serious bodily injury and intimidation, both Class C felonies, and criminal confinement, a Class B felony.

In return for those three guilty pleas, the Putnam County Prosecutor's Office dismissed three other charges:

Toby Curry

-- Battery with a deadly weapon, a Class C felony.

-- Criminal confinement (a second count), a Class B felony.

-- Contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a Class A misdemeanor.

The charges all stem from an April 28, 2013 incident in which Curry struck his son in the head and back with golf clubs during a post-prom party at a northeastern Putnam County home.

The defendant's 17-year-old son suffered head injuries that required stitches and several contusions to his back as a result of the incident.

In a probable cause affidavit filed with the court, Putnam County Sheriff's Department Det. Sgt. Pat McFadden reported that Curry struck his son multiple times as witnessed by several other persons in the same room at the Floyd Township home.

"All witnesses stated that Toby Curry was intoxicated and appeared to be angry," the affidavit adds.

Reportedly, Curry repeatedly demanded to know who had made his drink. No one in the room, however, seemed to know what he was talking about, Det. McFadden noted.

As the incident unfolded, Curry reportedly threatened two females before his son stood up and told his father "he was being an idiot and should sit down," the probable cause affidavit noted.

Investigators stated Curry then began beating his boy with two golf clubs, "recklessly swinging" them in a small crowded room with several other people nearby.

In reference to Curry's actions, Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter noted that alcohol problems "seem to run through everything he's done."

Defense counsel Ryan Dillon, a Franklin attorney, agreed that Curry has a "sizable substance abuse problem."

He also noted that Curry's son was present in the courtroom and informed him that a no-contact order was unnecessary since he "wants to re-establish a relationship with his father."

In accepting the plea agreement, Judge Denny Bridges sentenced Curry to eight years, all to be executed, on each of three counts. The sentences are to run concurrently.

The judge also dismissed the no-contact order and will recommend to the DOC that Curry be placed in a therapeutic treatment program. Curry will also receive credit for 294 days he has already spent in jail, awaiting the outcome of his charges.

It was also pointed out that Curry must make restitution of $6,432.43 in the case.