Former cheerleading coach to plead guilty to child seduction
A former cheerleading coach arrested last summer and charged with child seduction has agreed to plead guilty.
Morgan Mackenzie Judy, 23, of Bloomfield, was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior with a 17-year-old male Bloomfield student on May 6. Judy had served as a cheerleading coach in one local school and she had worked full-time as a substitute teacher in another local school during the last school year.
The incident was investigated by Indiana State Police Detective Brad Stille.
Greene County Prosecutor Jarrod Holtsclaw filed the criminal case against Judy on June 15 in Greene Circuit Court and a warrant was issued for her arrest.
Judy was taken into custody and booked in to the Greene County Jail around 5 p.m. the same day.
Her bond was set at $14,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. She posted $1,400 cash and was released.
She was then scheduled to appear in court for her initial hearing on Thursday, June 28. But Greene Circuit Judge Erik Allen stepped away from the case, and the date of the hearing was vacated pending the appointment of a Special Judge.
Lawrence County Superior Court Judge William Sleva was then appointed on June 21 to preside over the case and a new date for the initial hearing was set.
In late August, during an initial hearing with Judge Sleva on the bench, Judy was formally charged with two counts:
Child seduction – a child care worker in sexual intercourse or other sexual conduct with a child 16-17 years old, a Level 5 felony, and
Child seduction – a child care worker engages in fondling or touching with a child 16-17 years old, a Level 6 felony.
The State was represented by Greene County Prosecutor Jarrod Holtsclaw. Judy was represented by her Defense Attorney Joseph Lozano of Shapiro & Lozano in Bloomington.
Last Friday, January 4, during a pre-trial conference, Judy entered into a negotiated plea agreement, signed by Judy, her attorney and Prosecutor Holtsclaw.
If the terms of the agreement are approved by the judge, then Judy will plead guilty to one count of child seduction as a Class A misdemeanor and the other count will be dismissed.
The agreement includes several penalties and conditions including:
Judy will be required to pay a $100 fine plus court costs, a $250 sexual assault victim fee, and a $100 child abuse prevention fee.
She will be sentenced to one year in the Greene County Jail will all but four days suspended – she has no credit for days already served.
She will be on probation for 361 days on several terms and conditions.
She must register as a sex offender
She’ll serve 270 days on electronically monitored home detention
She’ll serve 100 hours of community service
She will voluntarily surrender her Indiana teaching license.
The agreement notes that if she successfully completes probation, does not violate terms of the sex offender registry and commits no new criminal offenses, she could file a request for expungement three years after her date of sentencing.
Greene County Community Corrections has been ordered to prepare and file an evaluation for home detention prior to Judy’s next day in court.
Judy’s change of plea and sentencing hearing is currently scheduled to take place on March 1.