Man Charged with Child Molesting Enters Not-Guilty Plea
Posted
Kaitie Vanderpool-
A Warsaw man charged with child molesting appeared in front of Judge Duane Huffer in Superior I court this morning for his initial hearing. Jeff Allen Haney, 48, Warsaw, was arrested on the charge Dec. 7 after he admitted to having a lengthy relationship with an underaged girl. The Class C felony is punishable by two to eight years in prison and up to $8,000 in fines. Haney’s arrest followed a Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department investigation that began Nov. 26 when an officer spoke with the father of a 15-year-old girl with whom Haney, a former employee of the father’s, had sent inappropriate calls, texts and emails, according to a probable cause affidavit filed with the Kosciusko County Prosecutor’s Office. The father told the officer he first caught Haney holding the girl’s hand in July 2011, when she was 12, and told him to stop contacting her. The relationship allegedly continued and Haney told police he met secretly with the girl on eight occasions. The court entered a plea of not guilty on Haney’s behalf today and he told Huffer he wished to be represented by a court-appointed attorney. Huffer granted his request and ordered Haney to pay $20 weekly, not to exceed $500 total, for the service. Haney is scheduled for a pretrial hearing Feb. 20 at 8:30 a.m.
