A Warsaw man will serve a five-year sentence locally after having sex with a child.
Braden Andrew Miller, 21, of 1403 E. Market St., Warsaw, was charged with sexual misconduct with a minor, a level 5 felony; and criminal confinement, a level 6 felony. A rape charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Miller was sentenced in Kosciusko Superior Court I on Thursday.
For sexual misconduct with a minor, Kosciusko Superior Court I Judge Karin McGrath sentenced Miller to five years in the Indiana Department of Correction, with two years executed and three years suspended on probation.
However, the first month of Miller’s executed time will be served in the Kosciusko County Jail, with the remainder of the executed time to be served through Kosciusko County Community Corrections.
Miller also received a two-year sentence for criminal confinement, which will be served at the same time as the sexual misconduct charge.
A no-contact order between Miller and the victim remains in effect. Miller must also register as a sex offender and cannot have any unsupervised contact with children.
At sentencing, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Sobek said he and defense attorney Benjamin Nordmann spent a lot of time on the case and worked hard on Miller’s plea agreement. He noted Miller has no prior criminal history and was honest about his underage substance use.
“What he needs to understand is you can’t have sex with whoever you want whenever you want to do it,” said Sobek. “If he hasn’t received that message yet, I hope he does now. He was playing with fire … and there needs to be a balance of punishment and rehabilitation here.”
Nordmann said Miller’s case was difficult in light of the charges but also noted Miller’s lack of criminal history. He also brought up personal circumstances with Miller that he believed contributed to Miller’s actions.
“He needs assessment and treatment,” said Nordmann.
Nordmann also said letters of support submitted on Miller’s behalf were more than what was typically seen in a case like this. He told the court Miller has also been sober for quite some time.
He requested Miller be placed on home detention if he received an executed sentence. Several of Miller’s family members were also present in support of Miller.
“I want to express my deepest remorse for the poor decisions I’ve made in my life,” said Miller. “I’ve learned my lesson and want to take action to better myself. I’ve prayed every single night for God to better build and shape me.”
McGrath said Miller described the incident in his pre-sentence investigation report as a “one-night stand” and said it was difficult for her to determine remorse with that statement. She noted Miller was described by others as “articulate, charming … a person with a gravitational pull.”
“That terrifies me,” said McGrath. “You owe yourself and society better. I hope you don’t use that ability to continue preying on people. You need to take a deep assessment of who you are.”
McGrath also described the incident as “terrifying, horrifying, and awful” for the victim.
Affidavit Of Probable Cause
On Feb. 17, 2023, Warsaw Police officers were made aware of an individual under the age of 18 being a sexual assault victim. The child said they were at a friend’s house in August 2022 when the friend’s spouse and Miller asked the child and their friend to hang out with them.
According to court documents, Miller, the child, and another individual passed around a THC vape and smoked it. While in a local business’s parking lot with just the child, Miller drove to a darker part of the parking lot and forcibly had sexual intercourse with the child while they screamed and attempted to get away.
The child said Miller initially told them he was 16 years old, and the child told Miller their age. During an interview with police, Miller said the child kissed him and described their encounter as “110% consensual.”