NEW CASTLE, Ind. — A New Castle man convicted of child molesting has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Shane Edward Roberts Jr., 24, had pleaded guilty to a Level 1 felony in Henry Circuit Court 2. Judge Kit Crane imposed a 24-year sentence with four years suspended.
Roberts will be on probation for four years upon his release from prison.
Under the terms of a plea agreement, two other molesting counts pending against the New Castle man were dismissed.
Roberts had been accused of having sex with a 13-year-old girl three times in May and June of 2022. The first incident took place during a party, according to court documents.
According to New Castle police reports, Roberts in May 2022 told city police he believed he might have been sexually assaulted by a juvenile while intoxicated at that party.
However, an officer said the New Castle man provided few details and didn't cooperate with efforts to investigate his claims.
Police later received reports of Roberts having sex with the 13-year-old victim at that party, and on at least two subsequent occasions.
The charges against him were filed in March 2023.
In other court news:
Meth sentence: An Anderson man convicted of manufacturing meth in Henry County has received a nine-year sentence, suspended except for 1,010 days already spent in custody.
The case against 54-year-old Arnold Lee Matthews, a Level 3 felony carrying up to 16 years in prison, was filed in August 2021. He was originally charged with dealing in meth, a Level 2 felony.
Matthews was sentenced by Henry Circuit Court 1 Judge Bob Witham, who noted the Anderson man had completed treatment at a substance abuse treatment center.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
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