The case of a Jasonville man arrested in July of 2020 then charged with the molestation and rape of a 12-year-old child came to a conclusion on Monday when a judge handed down a sentence of 32 years in prison.

For background information and more details about the incident, see the original story that was posted on GreeneStreets on July 28, 2020 – it’s posted below.

Zachery Earl Passen, mug shot on Monday, May 16, 2022

Zachery Earl Passen, 41 at the time of his arrest, now 42, of Jasonville, was arrested on Thursday, July 23, 2020, by Jasonville Police Chief Ryan Van Horn. He spent a few days in the Greene County Jail before bonding out and has remained out of custody while his case wound its way to a conviction.

Passen was initially charged with:

Two counts of child molesting, both as Level 1 felonies, and
One count of rape, a Level 3 felony.

Earlier this spring, a second count of rape, a Level 3 felony, was added to his charges and then an agreement on a negotiated plea was reached.

Under the terms of the negotiated plea agreement, accepted by the court, the two counts of child molesting were dismissed and Passen pled guilty to two counts of rape, both as Level 3 felonies.

His conviction was entered into the court record last Friday.

Yesterday, Monday, May 16, Passen was sentenced by Judge Dena Martin in Greene Superior Court.

On the first count of rape, Passen was sentenced to 16 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections. He was given credit for 13 days already served in the county jail and will be given good time credit for those 13 days if eligible. He was also fined $100 and court costs and ordered to pay a $500 sexual assault victims assistance fee and a $100 child abuse prevention fee.

On the second count of rape, Passen was sentenced to 16 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections.

Judge Martin specified that these sentences are to be served consecutively, in other words one after the other for a total of 32 years in prison.

Under Indiana law, if Passen is eligible for good time credit, he will still have to serve at least 75 percent of his sentences which amounts to a minimum of 24 years behind bars.

After he has served his time and is released, he will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Passen was taken into custody and booked into the Greene County Jail yesterday around 11:00 AM to begin serving his sentences.

Story posted on GreeneStreets on Tuesday, July 28, 2020:

Bond set at $95,000 for Jasonville man accused of child molestation and rape

A Jasonville man, arrested last Thursday by the Jasonville Police Chief, is being held in the Greene County Jail in lieu of a $95,000 bond. He’s accused of two counts of child molestation and one count of rape.

Zachery Earl Passen, 41, of Jasonville, was arrested last Thursday, July 23, by Jasonville Police Chief Ryan Van Horn.

When Passen was booked into the Greene County Jail at 1:18 p.m. on a preliminary charge of one count of child molesting, a Level 1 felony, his bond was set at $40,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. The amount of his bond has since changed.

After Officer Van Horn’s report reached the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office, a criminal case was filed in Greene Superior Court early today, Tuesday, July 28, with two additional counts.

Passen is now facing preliminary charges of:

Two counts of child molesting, both are Level 1 felonies, and
Rape, a Level 3 felony.

Passen’s bond has been increased to $95,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed.

Officer Van Horn responded around 7 a.m. Thursday to a residence in Jasonville after the sheriff’s department received a call from someone who requested an officer.

When Van Horn arrived, two women and Passen were standing in the front yard. The two women advised him a sexual encounter had occurred between Passen and a 12-year-old child earlier that morning at a different location - Passen’s residence on Sycamore Street in Jasonville.

Van Horn said that without any prompting, Passen told him that he “did it.”

During the course of this investigation, Van Horn learned the incident had taken place in the living room and that Passen had a surveillance system set up in the house, with a camera in the living room, and the incident was allegedly caught on video.

Around noon, a search warrant was executed on Passen’s residence. Photographs were taken and bedding was collected along with Passen’s cell phone and a DNA sample. In addition, the home surveillance system was seized as evidence.

Van Horn said officers were able to export the video footage from Passen’s surveillance system and it shows the entire incident that started at 5 a.m.

In a probable cause affidavit prepared by Van Horn, he wrote that he was confident in determining that the individual in the video is in fact Zachery Passen.

Several individuals including family members were interviewed. On that morning, Passen had allegedly admitted guilt to more than one of the individuals interviewed.

A forensic interview of the alleged victim was conducted at Susie’s Place in Bloomington and according to Van Horn’s affidavit, the child was able to understand and describe what occurred in detail.

Van Horn states, “After reviewing the interview with Victim 1 at Susie’s Place, I found that Victim 1’s statement is consistent with the video footage obtained from Zachery’s surveillance system.”

Van Horn’s affidavit details an incident that involved oral sex and intercourse with the alleged victim, that Passen removed the child’s clothing and when the child tried pulling clothing back on, he pulled the clothing back off, and that the victim told him to stop but he did not stop.

The date for Passen’s initial hearing has not been set. As of mid-afternoon, Tuesday, he had not posted bond.