A Warsaw man will serve 25 years in prison after molesting a child multiple times over the last five years.
Paul Brian Maples, 54, Warsaw, was charged with two counts of child molesting, both level 3 felonies as lesser included offenses of level 1 felonies. Four additional child molesting charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Maples was sentenced in Kosciusko Superior Court One on Thursday.
For the first child molesting count, Kosciusko Superior Court I Judge Karin McGrath sentenced Maples to 15 years in the Indiana Department of Correction, with 13 years executed and two years suspended on probation. Maples also received a 15-year DOC sentence for the second child molesting count, with 12 years executed and three years suspended on probation.
Both counts will be served back-to-back.
In total, Maples received a 30-year sentence, with 25 years executed and five years suspended on probation.
He has 115 days of jail time credit. A no-contact order between Maples and the victim remains in effect. Maples must also register as a sex offender.
At sentencing, the child's mother read a victim impact statement from the child, who said Maples' actions have "had a major impact on my physical and mental health."
"Trusting people is very hard now, especially men," said the child in their statement.
They said their anxiety and depression have "skyrocketed."
"I believe I can heal and trust again someday," said the child.
To conclude their statement, the child said they believed Maples should get the maximum amount of time for his actions.
"This is one of those cases where there's not many words," said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Sobek, who said he agreed with the probation department's recommendation of a 25-year prison sentence.
"I hope and pray that ultimately, this is a day of healing for the victim," said Sobek. "This is sad and horrific, and I ask for the sentence to reflect that."
Defense attorney John Barrett said the case "was bad all the way around" and had "no winners." He noted Maples has no prior criminal history and accepted responsibility for his actions.
"He wants to pay for his crime and wishes he could take it back," said Barrett.
More than a dozen supporters for the child attended the sentencing.
"I feel guilt, shame, and regret for my actions," said Maples. "I deserve whatever fair and just sentence you give me today."
Maples said he was thankful for the support he had and asked to directly address the victim, who was present in court. McGrath told Maples a no-contact order remains in effect.
"This was a horrific violation of trust," said McGrath. "While you didn't put your victim through a trial, the flip side of that is with this plea agreement, you avoided decades of prison time. I choose to believe (the victim and their family) will recover and eventually thrive. And they will do that without you."
On April 11, a Kosciusko County Sheriff's Office deputy responded to a child molestation report. The child said Maples molested them for the last five years and gave their relative a notebook that described the incidents.
In an interview at the Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center, the child said Maples told them not to tell anyone what happened when they were first molested. According to court documents, the last time Maples allegedly molested the child was in November 2023.
The child said they were scared to tell anyone about the molesting, and estimated they were molested about three times a month, and over 20 times every year.
The child's relative provided officers with the notebook describing the incidents. On one page, the child wrote that if they engaged in inappropriate activity with Maples, that Maples would do favors for them.
In an interview on April 15, Maples confessed to molesting the child and said he wanted to turn himself in. He implied that he did not threaten, force, or make promises to the child. Maples also estimated he molested the child around 50 times.