Otto Schalk's Record on Child Abuse Cases: It's that Bad

We have been able to see in great detail Otto Schalk's horrible record on burglary cases. Now, what about child abuse cases? The record is even worse. You can look up everything here on mycase.in.gov.

Take this case, No. 31D01-1008-FB-634. The person in that case was charged with Aggravated Battery, with injuries causing protracted loss or impairment, a B Felony, Neglect of a Dependent resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, a B Felony, and Neglect of a Dependent where the dependent put in a situation endangering his life, another D Felony. If this were to have gone to trial, the person could have received up to 46 years in prison.

That may be a bit technical, so here is what the Indiana State Police said at the time:

A three month old child was taken to the Harrison County Hospital and then transferred to the Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville, KY with what preliminarily appeared to be non-accidental head trauma.

 This was serious head trauma to a three month old baby. Let's repeat: serious head trauma. A person that engages in acts that cause a defenseless three month old baby serious head trauma deserves severe punishment.

Otto Schalk disagreed with severe punishment for a person engaged in a horrible case of child abuse. His office signed a plea agreement dismissing the two most serious charges, with a plea to the least serious charge. What did he get? Time served- 112 days. That for serious child abuse. In fact, Otto Schalk also agreed to allowing him to have contact with children before the case was even over. That is a serious lack of judgment.

If giving a sweetheart deal to someone engaged in serious child abuse wasn't bad enough, the same person was arrested on A Felony meth charges a few months later. And in another classic Otto Schalk move, the same person got a plea deal where he served only about 10% of the maximum sentence he could have gotten. That is not right. It is either incompetence or laziness. Because, remember, plea agreements are up to the Prosecutor alone. A Judge may only accept or reject them.

We need a Prosecutor that will not treat serious child abuse cases with such disregard. We need a Prosecutor that will not create a revolving door system for criminals. We need a new Prosecutor on November 4.

Otto Schalk's Record