Men sentenced to 46 years in prison
Billman, Smith charged with child molesting
Wanda English Burnett - Editor

Last week in Ripley Circuit Court two men received a total of 46 years on felony child molesting charges.

Jonathon Alexander Billman, 23, of the Dillsboro/Aurora area, was sentenced to 16 years on March 28. On January 16, 2004, Prosecutor Ric Hertel had charged the defendant with Child Molesting, a Class B Felony. After reviewing information from the Indiana State Police, Billman was charged with molesting a 13-year-old girl in November of 2003.

At the guilty plea hearing, Billman admitted to having sexual intercourse with the victim who had asked him for a ride to her grandmother's house.

On March 29, Robert Derrick Smith, 35, formerly of Osgood, was sentenced in Ripley Circuit Court for Child Molesting, a Class A Felony. He was charged by Prosecutor Hertel in December of 2003, after an investigation by Indiana State Police.

Smith was charged with Deviate Sexual Conduct with a male child under the age of 14 in 2002. Evidence indicated this activity took place several times in a two year period. Prosecutor Hertel noted that Smith had a lengthy criminal record, including previous sexual misconduct charges. He was in prison on unrelated charges at the time the most recent crime was reported.

Indiana State Police Detective Tracy Rohlfing was credited with thorough and professional investigations "leading to the courtroom admissions and pleas of guilty at the March 28, and 29, hearings" according to Prosecutor Hertel.

Hertel further noted that Detective Rohlfing was the lead investigator in both cases and "had it not been for his competent and complete work on these cases, the likelihood of convictions would have been minimal. Child molestation investigations require experience and significant amounts of time and energy."

Prosecutor Hertel concluded by saying he hoped these young victims could now move on from these traumatic events and feel secure knowing that these men are now incarcerated and will be for several years unable to harm them or anyone else.