ELKHART — A Warsaw dentist has received probation for acting inappropriately with a former employee by locking her in an office and inappropriately touching her.
Steven C. Hollar, 57, Warsaw, was charged with confinement, a class A misdemeanor as a lesser included offense of a level 6 felony; and battery, a class B misdemeanor. Two additional criminal charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Hollar pled guilty and was sentenced in Elkhart County on Friday. The case was transferred to Elkhart County after all Kosciusko County judges recused themselves from the case.
For confinement, Elkhart Superior Court V Judge Christopher Spataro sentenced Hollar to 360 days in jail, with the entirety of the sentence suspended on probation. Hollar also received a six-month sentence for battery, which was also suspended on probation. Both charges will be served at the same time.
A no-contact order between Hollar and the victim will remain in effect until the conclusion of Hollar's sentence. The victim was present in court for Hollar's court proceedings.
Hollar is employed as a dentist at Hollar Dental Group and is also locally known for his acting role in the 1986 sports drama film "Hoosiers."
On April 5, 2023, a person went to the Warsaw Police Department and was interviewed regarding conduct that occurred while she was employed at Hollar Dental Group.
The employee said she was hired on Jan. 3, 2023.
According to court documents, the employee said Hollar conducted annual staff reviews on March 20, 2023. During her review, which took place one-on-one in a downstairs office, Hollar asked the employee personal questions about her family and told Hollar she felt the questions being asked were invasive. Hollar told the employee he felt like she did not have a male role model and said Hollar Dental Group was a safe place for her.
As the interview progressed, Hollar told the employee he was getting her new scrubs. He handed the employee some scrubs and locked the office door, with both Hollar and the employee staying in the room. While the employee started putting the scrubs on over her clothing, Hollar said to "take it off."
The employee said she didn't say anything but looked away and tried to hide herself while getting changed. During the changing process, Hollar told the employee she could take her bra off. The employee described the process as putting the scrubs halfway on in an attempt to not fully change. After she put her clothing back on, Hollar provided the employee with a jacket and told her she could wear it without a bra. He told the employee to "let (him) know how you like it without a bra on tonight at home."
At one point during the incident, the employee said Hollar hugged her and told her to "keep this between us."
When she went home for the day, the employee received a phone call from Hollar, who asked her if she was alone. Hollar told the employee she had his mind racing after the review session and offered to give her flexible working hours.
The employee recalled another incident that occurred on March 21, 2023. Hollar had the employee sit in a dental chair to show her the proper way of assisting a disabled patient. During the demonstration, Hollar inappropriately grabbed the woman and joked about the incident.
In another incident on April 4, 2023, the employee said Hollar randomly called her for a meeting and handed some scrubs to her. When the employee told him the scrubs would not fit her, Hollar had the employee go into his office. He locked the door and stood in front of it. As this incident occurred, another person could be heard nearby and Hollar told the employee to be quiet to keep the person from hearing her in his office.
During this incident, Hollar kept telling the employee to try on various sizes of scrubs that she knew would not fit her. After trying on about three different pairs, the employee turned to face away from Hollar to conceal herself. When she did this, Hollar unhooked her bra and touched her inappropriately. She said Hollar stated, "This is against code," which the employee agreed with, and Hollar laughed about it.
The employee said she told Hollar to stop and at one point, Hollar tried to move her scrub pants out of the way and grab her underwear in order to look at a scar.