GreeneStreets

View Original

Convicted child molester, considered a sexually violent predator, arrested on July 4

A man, termed a sexually violent predator due to his Class A felony child molesting conviction in 2007, was arrested on the Fourth of July for allegedly failing to update his information on the Sexual Offender’s List when he moved.

Gregory Darren Keller

Gregory Darren Keller, 37, of Jasonville was arrested on Thursday, July 4, by Jasonville Police Sgt. Brian Pilant. Keller was booked in to the Greene County Jail at 12:42 a.m. on a warrant issued on Wednesday, July 3.

Keller has been under investigation by Deputy Harvey Holt of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department.

According to Deputy Holt, GCSD Deputy Bruce Porter attempted to verify Keller’s address on Thursday, June 20. Keller was registered as living at 306 South Washington Street in Jasonville but Keller could not be located there.

When Porter spoke to the landlord, the landlord said Keller had moved out and was living with an uncle at 905 East Ohio Street in Jasonville. When Porter went to that address, the uncle said Keller had changed his mailing address to the Ohio Street address but he wasn’t actually living there. He said he was just stopping by to grab his mail then leave.

Keller is considered a sexually violent predator and is required to register on the Indiana Sexual and Violent Offender’s List for the rest of his life. He is required to notify the Greene County Registrar of any change of address within 72 hours of making a move.

Keller was first convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor on October 12, 2004.

He was arrested and charged with an even more serious crime in September of 2005 and on January 26, 2007, he was convicted in Greene County of child molesting as a Class A felony. On this conviction, he was sentenced to 20 years with 10 years suspended. He served his time, with good time credit, in the Indiana Department of Corrections (INDOC) and was released on June 20, 2014.

In addition, Keller was previously convicted of failure to register in Greene County on January 6, 2016.

Starting on June 29, Deputy Holt retraced Porter’s same steps, visiting the Washington Street address, then talking to the landlord a second time. The landlord said Keller had moved out on or before June 14. Holt also talked to Keller’s uncle who again confirmed Keller was not living with him at the Ohio Street address. He said Keller was staying at Keller’s father’s residence on State Road 59.

When Deputy Holt went to the residence on State Road 59 and talked to the father, he learned Keller was not there but was in Terre Haute with a girlfriend but had been staying there off and on.

Deputy Holt noted this residence is approximately 535 feet south of a church which is also classified as a school.

Later that night, Keller did call in to the sheriff’s department and he went in to update his address the next day, saying he had just moved. But he said he was living at the Ohio Street address, which both Porter and Holt had determined was not where he was staying.

Deputy Holt reported when he talked to Keller, Keller did not tell the truth.

A criminal case was filed against Keller on Tuesday, July 2. A warrant was issued for his arrest on Wednesday, July 3. Within hours, Keller was arrested, on Thursday, July 4.

When he appears in Greene Circuit Court for his initial hearing, he will be charged with:

  • Failure to register as a sex offender, a Level 6 felony.

  • Failure to register as a sex offender with a prior conviction for failure to register, a Level 5 felony.

But that’s not all. Today, on Friday, July 5, a petition to revoke his suspended sentence was filed in the case of the Class A felony child molesting conviction and another warrant was issued for his arrest.