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Despite Larry Anglin's proclamation of innocence to the explicit sexual crimes he was accused of, a six-man and six- woman jury Wednesday found him guilty on all seven counts of child molesting.
Anglin, 60, was on trial for molesting his two stepchildren. He will be sentenced Oct. 17 at 1:15 p.m. If given the maximum sentences, Anglin could face 266 years in prison. He currently is being held in Kosciusko County Jail.
Anglin took the witness stand Wendesday afternoon and denied the allegations against him. His testimony came just after the prosecution played a nearly two-hour taped confession he gave to Indiana State Police Detective Robert Brinson.
In the videotape Anglin admitted to "messing" with the kids. He admitted to frequent sexual acts with the then-9-year old girl and to one-time "experimenting" with the then-8-year-old boy.
In his confession, Anglin blamed his misconduct on the children, saying the girl tempted him because "she walked around in various states of nakedness."
Anglin claimed he never forced the children to do anything, because he's "not that kinda person." Instead, he alleged that the children enjoyed the activities, despite the testimony of both children Tuesday to the contrary.
While the videotape of his confession played, Anglin sat in the courtroom shaking his head. Minutes later, he took the stand to clear up what he considered misunderstandings.
"I think he forced me into saying something I didn't want to say," Anglin said, referring to Brinson.
"There's nothing on that tape that is true that I said ..." Anglin said, crying. "I don't care what that tape says, I didn't do it - I'm not that kind of a person."
Following his teary-eyed statement, the defense rested its case and both sides made their final statements.
Defense attorney Jay Rigdon urged the jury to consider the facts and said there are not enough to convict. "It's not enough to say the magic words, 'I have been molested,' and convict somebody," Rigdon told the jury.
Deputy prosecuting attorney Scott Smith reminded the jury that this ordeal was the choice of Anglin, an adult man. "He made the choice to take away their trust - their innocence. Fortunately, now it's your choice."
The jury's choice was to find him guilty of five Class A felonies and two Class C felonies. Each Class A felony carries a maximum sentence of 50 years. Class C felonies carry up to 8 years each.
