A man arrested last June and charged with three counts including rape and sexual battery entered into a negotiated plea agreement in late September. Yesterday in Greene Circuit Court, he pled guilty to two counts. Although the rape charge was dismissed, he was sentenced to time in the Greene County Jail, followed by time on work release.

Indiana Joseph Miller, 24 at the time of his arrest, now 25, formerly from Linton, now Bloomfield, turned himself in on June 16, 2020, after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

The criminal case was filed against Miller as a result of an investigation by Indiana State Police Detective Stacy Brown that started in mid-February, 2020, when a woman made allegations about incidents she said occurred on two different occasions in January.

Miller’s bond was set at $20,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He posted $2,000 and was released from jail.

Miller was charged with:

Rape – compelled by force or imminent threat of force, a Level 3 felony,
Sexual battery – compelled by force or imminent threat of force, a Level 6 felony, and
Battery resulting in bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor.

Miller retained Defense Attorney Carl Salzmann of Bloomington to represent him and the defense requested a trial by jury. The trial was scheduled for November 17 but it was canceled on October 22 after the parties reached an agreed resolution.

On October 28, the agreement between Miller and his attorney and Greene County Prosecutor Jarrod Holtsclaw was filed in court and Greene County Community Corrections was ordered to conduct a pre-sentence evaluation.

Under the terms of the agreement, Count #1 of rape was to be dismissed and Miller would change his plea to guilty of Counts #2 and #3, Level 6 felony sexual battery and Class A misdemeanor battery resulting in bodily injury.

Also under the terms of the agreement, sentencing was left to the discretion of the court.

Yesterday morning, Wednesday, January 13, Miller appeared in a change of plea and sentencing hearing before Judge Erik Allen in Greene Circuit Court, along with his Defense Attorney Carl Salzmann and Greene County Prosecutor Jarrod Holtsclaw.

In keeping with the terms of the agreement, Count #1 of rape was dismissed and Miller changed his plea to guilty of Count #2, sexual battery, a Level 6 felony, and Count #3, battery resulting in bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor.

In the sentence pronouncement, Judge Allen noted the mitigating and aggravating factors that were considered.

Mitigating factors included the fact that Miller had no prior criminal history, had a history of being a law-abiding citizen, and the fact that he pled guilty and accepted responsibility for his actions.

Aggravating factors included the extreme emotional impact the crimes had on the victim. Judge Allen wrote that the victim described the serious lasting emotional impact from the crimes.

Another aggravating factor was that Miller was a close friend of the victim.

At the time of the incidents, Miller was serving a short stint as a reserve police officer at the Linton Police Department and Judge Allen noted that placed him a position of trust to the victim and the community.

The sentencing order states the court placed substantial weight on the aggravating factor of the extreme emotional impact on the victim and that the offenses were very serious crimes against the person. But substantial weight was also given to the mitigating factors. The order states the aggravating and mitigating factors were in near equal balance.

Sentences were handed down for both counts and the sentence for the felony count was consistent with the advisory sentence for this crime. An “advisory” sentence is a guideline that courts consider – it falls midway between the minimum sentence and the maximum sentence for an offense.

The sentences imposed for the two counts are to be served consecutively, or one after the other rather than at the same time. In the sentencing order, the judge noted that the seriousness and weight of the aggravating factors justified consecutive sentences.

On Count #2, Judge Allen sentenced Miller to 1.5 years with six months suspended. The executed portion of one year is to be served in the Greene County Jail with Miller to serve the first nine months in jail and the three remaining months on work release through the Greene County Community Corrections Program. In addition, Miller will be required to register as a sex offender.

On Count #3, Miller was sentenced to one year in the Greene County Jail with six months suspended.

According to the order, the executed portion of six months may be served on work release.

Count #3 will be served after Count #2. Miller will be on probation after his time is served. He was not given credit for any time already served. He will be eligible for “good time” credit, if eligible, but must serve at least 50 percent of his executed time.

He was also ordered to pay various court costs, fines and fees as well as $230 in restitution to the victim.

As of late Thursday, Miller has not yet been booked into jail – GreeneStreets does not know the date when he will begin serving his sentence.