WASHINGTON COUNTY — Attorneys for a Salem man accused of sexually assaulting a mentally challenged Bartholomew County woman were unsuccessful in their efforts to convince a judge to recuse himself.
Jon A. Arnold, 66, of Salem is charged in his hometown with 12 counts of rape as a Level 3 felony. Each charge is defined by Indiana law as “rape while the victim is mentally disabled or deficient.” Tests indicate the victim has cognitive functioning similar to that of a toddler, and is unable to give sexual consent, investigators said.
Arnold is also facing one felony charge of human trafficking as a Level 4 felony. If found guilty on all charges, the Salem man could be sentenced to more than 200 years in prison. A jury trial has been tentatively scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on July 16.
In another recent development, one of Arnold’s co-defendants – Christina L. Moffatt, 28, of Jonesville – has been charged in Washington County for promoting prostitution as a Level 5 felony.
Washington Superior Judge Dustin Houchin had assumed jurisdiction in the Jon Arnold case from Circuit Judge Larry Medlock on March 15. Besides refusing to recuse himself this month, Houchin also denied a defense request to reinstate bond for the defendant.
Bail has frequently been the issue during Arnold’s recent court hearings in Salem. After his arrest on Oct. 5, bond was set at $60,000. But within a few days, Washington County Prosecutor Tara Coats Hunt asked the judge to raise the bond to $1 million.
While Medlock initially responded by ordering Arnold held without bond, he later relented and lowered the amount to $150,000. A third party paid the amount on Nov. 30, and Arnold was released.
When Arnold asked permission to leave the state in both January and February, Medlock granted both requests. But on March 12, the state entered a petition to revoke bail.
The petition was filed a few weeks after a new criminal case was opened alleging that Arnold committed Level 6 felonies by engaging in the timber business without registering with the state.
The defendant has been an owner or part-owner in three different lumber-related businesses: True Dimensions Hardware, Inc., Jon Arnold Lumber Company, and Jon Arnold Logging. However, he has been arrested multiple times for failure to register since 2008.
On March 14, Hunt’s office stated they were going to seek enhanced penalties against the defendant based on prior convictions. One day later, Arnold’s case was transferred to Houchin’s court.
On May 10, Arnold was additionally charged with making an unlawful proposition. As defined by Indiana law, making an unlawful proposition is knowingly or intentionally paying, or offering or agreeing to pay, money or other property to another person in exchange for sex.
A hearing on the prosecutor’s request to increase Arnold’s bond, as well as a pre-trial conference, are both scheduled for 1:15 p.m. on June 24 in Houchin’s court.
In Bartholomew County, Arnold is charged with one count of rape when the victim is mentally disabled or deficient as a Level 3 felony, as well as human trafficking as a Level 4 felony. A change of plea hearing for Arnold before Bartholomew Circuit Judge Kelly Benjamin is scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept 9, with a jury trial scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 8.
Besides Moffatt, Arnold’s two other co-defendants are Christopher S. Lovell and Brandon A. Jacobs, 38. The three were sharing a home in Jonesville with the victim when the arrests took place. Court documents state the victim had become pregnant before law enforcement was aware the woman was being sexually exploited.
Investigators believe the co-defendants took the victim to Arnold’s residence in Salem multiple times in an arrangement for sexual relations in exchange for $600 a month, a Bartholomew County court affidavit states. Investigators say the woman was driven to Salem in that arrangement between 12 and 15 times between late 2022 and early 2023.
According to the court affidavit, the three co-defendants had also been involved in sexual acts with the victim. Lovell had a previous arrest for battering the woman while she was pregnant.
Change of plea hearings for Lovell, Jacobs and Moffatt are all currently scheduled for the same day, Aug. 12 in Bartholomew Circuit Court. Lovell’s hearing is set to begin at 8:45 a.m., Jacobs at 9:45 p.m., and Moffatt at 1:30 p.m.
All three have the same time and date for their trial — 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 10.
