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.
Scott appeared in court wearing a black-and-white striped jail shirt and pants, in handcuffs and ankle restraints. The courtroom gallery was empty except for a victim’s advocate following the case for the victim’s family.
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 July 22 arrest by Indiana State Police.
He told Worton during the hearing that he had been unable to make contact with relatives to arrange for an attorney or bail money.
Scott is being held in lieu of $125,000 bond, or 10 percent cash bond, and said he would be able to bond out if he could get in contact with relatives to help him.
The judge told him that if he could afford the bond, it was unlikely that he would qualify for a public defender.
Worton set Scott’s trial date for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 8, with a change-of-plea hearing at 10:45 a.m. Dec. 3. A final pre-trial hearing before a trial was scheduled for 11 a.m. Dec. 17.
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.
Indiana State Police began investigating a child molesting complaint against Scott the day before his arrest.
Retired from the sheriff’s department, Scott was a volunteer supervisor on the night-time security detail 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.
Trooper Korry Clark said in his report that a 12-year-old boy told state police he had been invited to Scott’s camper/trailer and that Scott exposed himself to the boy and took a photo of the youth, whose genitals were also exposed, the probable-cause affidavit states.
The two males also fondled each other while at the trailer, according to information the boy told a forensic interviewer with the Child Advocacy Center.
After Indiana State Police obtained a search warrant, they found the photograph of the boy on the suspect’s camera phone, the probable-cause affidavit states. The date and time stamp of the photo and the clothing the boy was wearing were consistent with the boy’s account of the incident, the document states.
State troopers also located a smoking device commonly used to consume controlled substances, containing ash, in the camper closet, the affidavit states.
When Scott was interviewed by state police, he said he had known the boy for about three years around the campground and said he would regularly give the boy snacks when he came by Scott’s camper.
On the day of the incident, Scott told state police that the boy invited the sexual contact between the two, the affidavit states. Scott admitted taking a picture of the boy’s exposed genitals, the document states.
According to Ceraland officials, Scott was the liaison with local law enforcement for Ceraland security issues. He was also a Bartholomew County sheriff’s reserve deputy until July 23, when Sheriff Matt Myers terminated Scott’s affiliation with the department following the arrest.
