JENNINGS COUNTY — A judge has taken under advisement a request to lower the bond for a 15-year-old Jennings County teen who is being tried as an adult over allegations that he repeatedly sexually assaulted a 7-year-old, non-verbal special needs student on a school bus.
The request, filed by an attorney representing Landon Doty, 15, North Vernon, seeks to lower the $250,000 bond set last month after the teenager was arrested on 12 charges, including four felony counts of rape, two felony counts of child molesting, four felony counts of sexual battery, one count of criminal confinement and one misdemeanor count of public indecency.
Doty has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
Jennings Circuit Court Judge Murielle Bright stated in a recent order that Doty’s current bond is “commensurate with the seriousness of the alleged crime(s)” based on the court’s bond schedule but deferred making a final decision on the request, pending additional documentation.
Bright ordered the Jennings County Jail to allow Doty to undergo a therapy or counseling assessment and has asked for written proof of school enrollment — whether in-person or online — as well as evidence of active counseling.
Additionally, she directed Doty’s attorney, Bradley Kage, to file a formal waiver of attorney-client privilege to allow the Doty’s legal guardians to participate in consultations between the teenager, his lawyer and jail officials.
However, the order does not specify a deadline for the documentation to be submitted or for Doty to undergo the assessment.
In the meantime, Bright ordered Doty’s bond to remain unchanged “until further order of the court.”
Last month, Doty was booked into the Jennings County Jail after a magistrate judge ordered the teenager to be tried as an adult, citing “heinous” conduct and a “repetitive pattern of delinquent acts” captured on the Jennings County School Corp.’s school bus’s camera “over a period of several weeks,” according to court records.
“The child is beyond rehabilitation under the juvenile justice system; and it is in the best interest of the safety and welfare of the community that the child stand trial as an adult,” the magistrate judge states in the decision to move the case to adult court.
A probable cause affidavit filed in Jennings Circuit Court alleges that North Vernon police were dispatched to Jennings County Middle School, located at 820 W. Walnut St. in North Vernon, on April 17 regarding “an unknown issue at the school’s transportation building.”
When the officers arrived, the school’s principal allegedly showed them video from the school bus’ camera that was taken after school the day before as the students were on their way home, the probable cause affidavit states.
The probable cause affidavit describes the alleged sexual assault and includes investigators describing incidents of oral sex and rape.
At one point, the bus monitor allegedly walked over to Doty and asked what was going on. The bus monitor then allegedly told the bus driver to pull over and “stated that the bus video needs to be reviewed.” The students were then separated.
The bus monitor and driver were not named in the probable cause affidavit.
Doty was allegedly taken from class and his guardian, his maternal grandmother, was called to come to the school. She allegedly said her brother would come because she was in Indianapolis.
When her brother arrived, the principal allegedly advised that “an incident took place and is being handled by the police department.”
Doty was placed into handcuffs and escorted inside a patrol car. Once the officer got into the car, Doty allegedly said, “I’m basically screwed,” according to information in the probable cause affidavit.
The magistrate judge’s order states that the victim suffers from moderate to severe autism and is non-verbal. The order also states that Doty is allegedly of “normal intelligence” and is not a special needs student, raising questions about why he was repeatedly allowed to ride the special needs school bus, according to court documents.
It is also not clear in the court documents how Doty was able to repeatedly hide the alleged conduct from the bus monitor and driver.
Bright has also scheduled a hearing on Aug. 15 to consider a request for change of venue by Doty’s attorney.
