A Bartholomew County judge has appointed a public defender for a former Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputy accused of child molesting.
Bartholomew Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton entered a not guilty plea Wednesday for Larry L. Scott, 72, of 3281 N. County Road 625E, Hope, during an initial hearing on the four felonies and a misdemeanor Scott faces.
Worton appointed public defender Benjamin Loheide to represent Scott, until the defendant is able to hire his own attorney, which Scott said he intended to do. Scott has been incarcerated in an out-of-county southern Indiana Jail since his arrest by Indiana State Police on July 22.
Scott is being held in lieu of $125,000 bond, or 10 percent cash bond.
The judge told him that if he could afford the bond, it was unlikely that he would qualify for a public defender and he would need to hire one after bonding out.
Court documents state Scott is accused of:
- Two counts of Level 4 felony child molesting involving a child younger than age 14, the most serious of the charges.
- A Level 6 felony charge of possession of child pornography, the lowest-level felony in Indiana
- A second Level 6 felony charge of performing sexual conduct in the presence of a minor — involving a child younger than 14.
- Class C misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia.
Scott was arrested July 22 by Indiana State Police who began investigating a child molesting complaint against him the previous day at Ceraland, a nonprofit park, sports complex and campground located southeast of Columbus at 3989 S. County Road 525E.
Scott helped supervise Ceraland’s three security officers who patrol the campground’s 320 campsites, six cabins and five rental pop-up campers at night. Scott stayed at a camper on the Ceraland property, officials said.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
