Before her sentencing Thursday on child solicitation and contributing to the delinquency of a minor charges, Elizibeth Likens contemplated whether to accept the plea agreement or take her case to jury trial.
Visibly upset, she asked her father, Kevin Trump, and her attorney, C. Austin Rovenstine, what should she do. If she took her case to trial, she told her father the state could add charges against her. In the end, she chose to move forward with the sentencing.
Kosciusko County Superior Court I Judge David Cates sentenced Likens to three years in the Indiana Department of Corrections for child solicitation, a level 5 felony; and 180 days each for the three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Class A misdemeanors, to be served concurrently. She will receive 109 days of credit for actual jail time plus the appropriate good time credit.
Likens, 32, also must participate in a recovery program while she is incarcerated to show Cates that she is addressing her substance abuse issues. She may not have contact with any of her victims in the case. She must register as a sexual offender; pay all fines, costs and fees ordered by the court; and reimburse Kosciusko County $300 for the cost of the court-appointed counsel.
“Show me you can be successful in that program and address the demons that affected you,” Cates told Likens.
Likens entered a guilty plea before Cates on Feb. 25.
Court documents indicate that in January 2018 Likens allegedly provided alcohol to three underage girls and then made sexual advances to them at a Winona Lake residence.
At Thursday’s sentencing, Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Brad Voelz said Likens acquired quite a bit of criminal history. While some of it was in the distant past, much was recent and looked like the result of addiction, Voelz said. If she was going to use drugs and destroy her body, that was up to her, he said, but when it causes her to harm children, that was not OK?and there was no excuse, he said.
Rovenstine said the decision for Likens to plead guilty was difficult for her. She has no recollection of the events of that night and has no delusion of the cause of the events. Likens has suffered from addiction, he said, and the night in question was the result of the influence of alcohol.
He said Likens wants to turn her life around and she desires to get help. Rovenstine said he spoke to her father, Trump, and he is supportive of her, of her getting treatment and living in his home.
In her sentence earlier this week in Kosciusko County Circuit Court on drug charges, Rovenstine noted she was approved for Community Corrections.
Likens said she’s taken the time she’s been on house arrest and incarcerated to reflect, not only on herself but this case. She said she is a good mother to her children and she’s made the necessary changes. She concluded by saying she was sorry.
In accepting her plea, Cates said he was glad to see she had family support. He said he believed she could be a good mother, but this case was not an example of that. He pointed out she has a criminal history and substance abuse problem.
