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Testimony by the victim helped convict a Warsaw man of habitual child molesting in Kosciusko Circuit Court Tuesday.
A jury listened to testimony from the 12-year-old victim before finding Edward Lee Jackson guilty of molesting a child under the age of 14 by sexual intercourse, a Class A felony. In the second part of the trial, the jury convicted him of being a habitual offender because of his two prior convictions.
Jackson, 40, of Ellsworth Street, Warsaw, faces a 50 to 80 year prison sentence for the crime.
"The trial went really well," said Kosciusko County Prosecuting Attorney David Kolbe. The victim testified, as well as a doctor who examined her and provided evidence that she had possibly been molested.
The girl testified that Jackson molested her for five to seven years while he was living with her mother. She said she was 5 years old when the molestation began.
"She was consistent and believable," Kolbe said of her testimony.
In the two-phase trial, the jury heard evidence that Jackson molested the 12-year-old without information of his prior convictions. When they found him guilty, the prosecution presented evidence that Jackson was a habitual offender.
He was found guilty of child molesting in 1979 and placed on probation. In 1982, he was convicted of child molesting again and sentenced to the maximum sentence of eight years in prison. Jackson served only four years in prison when the sentence was reduced with good time credit.
Jackson's defense claimed that Jackson was tricked into confessing the crime to police. He testified that he could not read or write, and police made him sign a confession before they read it to him. Jackson also argued that on one of the dates the molestation allegedly occurred, he had an alibi. But the prosecution presented a failed polygraph test taken by Jackson, and alternative dates.
"You must look at a range of dates with children," Kolbe said. "They're not good with times or dates, but they know what happened to them."
Kolbe said the case was well-tried, and he was "gratified" the jury convicted Jackson.
"Child molestings are hard to prove because it involves just a child and not too many witnesses," Kolbe said. "We were glad to have corroborating evidence."
Kolbe said he was concerned about not being able to present Jackson's prior convictions to the jury during the first phase of the trial. But he said the jury felt justified after convicting Jackson then hearing evidence of his prior activity.
Kolbe said the victim of the molestation is going on with her life and seems to be "coping."
The Class A felony conviction puts the case into the highest felony bracket, on the same level as murder. Kolbe said the 50-80-year sentence is the highest sentence he has had to ask for in his term as prosecutor.
