A North Manchester man is in jail after keeping his biological child from its mother for three months. Joshua Glenn Shepler, 33, of 1408 Clearcreek Trail, North Manchester, was arrested Wednesday and charged with confinement, a Class D felony, and violation of custody order, a Class C misdemeanor. He is being held in the Kosciusko County Jail on a $5,000 bond. Shepler was arrested after the mother of the child told police that he failed to show up for a scheduled custody exchange on June 23 after picking the child up about 10 days earlier, according to the probable cause affidavit from the Kosciusko County Prosecutor’s Office. Shepler refused repeated requests to return the child in the following weeks. Upon learning the whereabouts of the child, the North Manchester Police Department retrieved the child and returned it to its mother, who had not seen it for about 91 days, according to the affidavit. Shepler is the biological father of the child but had not obtained paternity or custodial rights in the paternity affidavit he and the mother signed at the time of the child’s birth, affording to the probable cause. Visitation rights were made by verbal agreement only.
