Published: July 10, 2008 11:47 am         

Indecency nets Logan man 1-year jail term

Kniesly convicted of class A misdemeanor for exposing himself to 10-year-old in 2007.

A Logansport man received the maximum penalty for exposing his privates to a 10-year-old girl at a lemonade stand last year.

At the conclusion of a bench trial Wednesday, Cass Superior Court II Judge Rick Maughmer found 76-year-old Daniel Kniesly guilty of class A misdemeanor public indecency and sentenced him to one year in the Cass County Jail.

The judge heard testimony from investigators, the victim, the victim’s mother and two boys also selling refreshments on July 30, 2007, the day the offense occurred.

Kniesly’s victim, now 11-years-old, testified that he drove to her lemonade stand on West Melbourne Avenue and ordered a cup of tea. When she returned with the drink, he exposed his penis.

The day of the incident police had been tailing Kniesly, who according to investigators had passed by the refreshment stand multiple times before stopping. After the transaction took place and Kniesly departed, Detective Robb Sweet of the Logansport Police Department stopped by the residence to ask if anything had occurred. The 10-year-old said no. A short time later, the girl told her mother that something had happened.

Police had been watching Kniesly for about a year, according to a report on the case. Investigators ordered Kniesly placed under surveillance in June 2007 after receiving reports that the convicted felon had been seen repeatedly at various parks and trails.

While under oath Wednesday, Kniesly, a retired mailman, denied the allegations against him. He said on the day in question he was driving around as a way to relieve tension. He did not know he was being followed by police.

“I didn’t really feel I had a reason to worry about it,” Kniesly said.

According to his testimony, the reason he approached the lemonade stand was to help the children. While in the area, Kniesly said he noticed children jumping up and down near the railroad tracks at Front Street and thought something was wrong. He said he felt obligated to help, if it was needed.

As he got closer, he realized the children were selling refreshments and purchased a cup of tea for 25 cents. The children reportedly asked for a tip, which he gave them. At no time did he expose his penis, he said.

Deputy prosecutor Randy Head presented the state’s case while defense attorney Kent Moore out of Lafayette represented Kniesly.

Moore argued that none of the children could even see inside Kniesly’s truck because they were too short. All his client could see was their “bobbing heads.” Moore presented photos that showed from the ground to the window opening on Kniesly’s truck measured 49 inches.

Head countered that the victim was 54 inches tall at the time, and Officer Dan Frye, who witnessed the transaction, said she stood on her tiptoes.

In closing argument, Head counted the 14 details remembered by the victim, including a description of Kniesly’s pickup truck, clothing, anatomy, trash located on the floorboard, the cup she handed Kniesly and where she stood during the offense.

Head also pointed out that neither the victim nor her mother had motive to lie.

The defense argued that a 10-year-old girl witnessing what she alleged to have seen should have invoked a reaction, but there was none, according to officer Frye, Moore said. It was simply a transaction, and it was not until police began asking questions that the story emerged. He said the story “evolved” as police investigated.

Head pointed out that the victim picked Kniesly out of a photo lineup the day of the crime and that there is no way to tell how a person is going to react.

The judge ruled that the prosecution met its burden of proof and found Kniesly guilty. Besides the year in jail, Kniesly was ordered to pay $164 in court costs.

The conviction is Kniesly’s second in three years. In January 2006, he pleaded guilty to class C felony battery with a deadly weapon and class D felony pointing a firearm. In that case, a young woman accused Kniesly of assaulting her at gun point in Logansport’s Front Street Park. The victim reportedly wrestled out of her shirt and brassiere and ran screaming from Kniesly. For that crime, he served jail time, in-home detention and probation.

Another aggravating factor against Kniesly was that last month Judge Maughmer revoked his bond for violating the condition that required his wife to accompany him anytime he went out in public. Kniesly had been seen alone at a local grocery store in April by a Logansport detective, according to court records.

Kniesly received credit for 32 days of time already served. On good behavior, he could be released in as little as five months.

Kevin Lilly can be reached at (574) 732-5117, or via e-mail at kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com