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The jury in a trial for a Warsaw man who allegedly molested a child started its deliberations during the late afternoon hours of Tuesday.
Earl E. Myers Jr., 50, of 920 Anchorage Road, lot 33, Warsaw, is charged with child molesting, a level 1 felony; and child molesting, a level 4 felony.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Sobek continued the state's case with testimony from Warsaw Police Department Det. Sgt. Ryan Coble.
Coble said he began investigating the molestation report after receiving information from WPD officer Drew Brewton, who responded to the initial call. In his testimony, Coble said he attended the child's forensic interview and went to the hotel where the child's mother and Myers lived. When he went to the hotel, Coble spoke with the mother, who gave police Myers' phone number.
Myers agreed to an interview, which took place on Aug. 7, 2024. Coble said Myers told him he last saw the victim and their brother during the weekend of July 19, 2024. He also said Myers denied the allegations against him.
In cross-examination by defense attorney William Kirkwood, Coble said he was given the date of July 19, 2024, as when the incident possibly occurred. Police were not called until July 31, 2024. Kirkwood asked if guardianship of the victim's brother or anything about Myers' biological children were ever mentioned in the interview. Coble said neither topic was discussed.
After Coble's testimony, Sobek rested the state of Indiana's case against Myers.
For evidence, Kirkwood and defense attorney Brian Pyle presented a videotaped recording of a Protected Persons hearing held on May 16 in Kosciusko County. At the hearing, Myers was present with counsel, along with Sobek, Kosciusko Superior Court I Judge Karin McGrath, and the victim, who was recorded in a separate room.
The Protected Persons Statute in the state of Indiana allows for special procedures in criminal cases involving children or individuals with mental disabilities.
In the recording, defense attorney Scott Reust, who was Myers' counsel at the time, asked the child multiple questions about the molestation. During their questioning, the child gave different answers to questions. They recalled circling body parts on anatomical drawings during their forensic interview, but said eight people lived with them at the hotel. When Reust asked the child to name the people, they only named four.
The child also gave conflicting information on the number of rooms they lived in at the hotel, as well as where the alleged molestation actually occurred. They told Reust Myers' children were present when they were molested and said Myers has eight children, when he only has three. They also said their biological father was present when they were molested and that he told Myers to stop it and leave.
As questioning continued, the child said they were molested 18 times, with the cops being called and Myers arrested during each of those incidents. They also told Reust their mother watched the molestation happen.
After playing the videotaped hearing for the jury, the defense rested its case.
Sobek called Dr. Linda McIntire, a clinical psychologist, to present her testimony as rebuttal evidence. McIntire said she evaluated the child at the request of the Kosciusko County Prosecutors' Office for the purposes of the Protected Persons hearing. She interviewed the child prior to the hearing and said the child suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder while also exhibiting an avoidance of discussion about Myers.
In her testimony, McIntire said she was "substantially concerned" with the cross-examination process used by Reust to question the child during the Protected Persons hearing. She said Reust used a lot of words the child didn't know, and also noted the child has difficulty with numbers and can't recall how many times something may have occurred.
McIntire said the child appeared nervous and afraid during the cross-examination, describing the child as a "compliant people-pleaser" who would give answers they thought adults wanted to hear, or would provide guesses rather than stating they didn't know.
McIntire also noted differences between the child's behavior in their forensic interview with Lorrie Freiburger and at the Protected Persons hearing. In the forensic interview, McIntire said the child moved around and used gestures; they sat still and it was unclear if the child made any facial expressions during the Protected Persons hearing.
She also told the jury there was a difference in Freiburger's and Reust's questioning process toward the child.
In cross-examination by Myers' defense counsel, McIntire said the child struggles to define what truths and lies are, but can distinguish what they are.
McIntire's testimony was the only evidence presented in rebuttal.
Following this, Sobek and Pyle delivered their closing arguments.
Sobek said the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt Myers molested the child, telling the jury they only need to be firmly convinced of this in order to find Myers guilty. He said the child's forensic interview with Freiburger was the best interview of the child.
"There is no confusion here," said Sobek. "(The victim) was able to convey what happened. They are telling the truth and there is no room for misunderstanding."
Pyle focused his closing argument on intelligence gaps, telling the jury that what they don't know causes reasonable doubt. He referenced "confusing testimony" from the child's babysitter, who said the child called two different people "mom."
Pyle also questioned if the child had potential trauma from dealings with their brother, who has bipolar disorder. He also focused on the child getting confused in differentiating between Myers and Myers' youngest son, who is also named Earl.
"If you're not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt, then you can't convict Earl," said Pyle.
In his final statement, Sobek said he was unsure if defense counsel was trying to argue if someone else in the child's family committed the crime, or if it just didn't happen in general. He told the jury no mention of Myers' son ever came up through presented evidence, including the forensic interview. Sobek said there were no family issues in the child's personal life and that the report "came clear out of the blue, which makes it more credible, not less."
"(The victim) can't process, can't problem solve, and can't defend (themselves) and Earl Myers knew it," said Sobek. "He chose (them) for a reason."
