[Long before I started posting about Judge Verkamp’s prior rulings, I verified with the Indiana Office of Judicial and Attorney Regulation that the rules do, in fact, allow me to point to these cases.  Because Dubois County voters deserve to have this information when deciding whether to give Judge Verkamp 6 more years on the bench, I will continue to post about his past decisions.] 

According to the officer’s affidavit, an 11-year-old girl reported that a family friend took photos of her at his Jasper residence while she was showering.  Specifically, the girl said she noticed the friend (a 57-year-old man) holding his iPhone in the glass above the door to the bathroom.  As the assigned deputy prosecutor, I filed criminal charges. 

At the defendant’s initial court hearing, Judge Nathan Verkamp released the defendant from jail without any requirement of posting bond. 

The defendant ultimately pled guilty to two counts of Child Exploitation, including one count for filming or videotaping the little girl while she used the toilet.  In other words, the defendant admitted that he did it. 

The plea agreement in this case dismissed multiple charges, but spared the child the trauma of a jury trial.  It also allowed me to argue for a sentence of up to 6 years in prison.  The exact length of the sentence, as well as where the sentence would be served, was left to Judge Verkamp’s discretion. 

At sentencing, I presented evidence that this little girl was not the only female that the defendant had victimized. 

Judge Verkamp sentenced the defendant to 6 years.  But Judge Verkamp chose to allow the defendant to serve his entire sentence in work release (meaning that the defendant could come and go from community corrections for work, appointments, church, day passes, etc.). 

According to the Dubois County Sheriff’s Office website, the defendant spent a total of 8 hours and 35 minutes in jail. 

The child that the defendant exploited was 11 years old.