Molester handed 20 years

by Kevin Lilly
Pharos-Tribune news editor

July 23, 2008 11:24 am

— For sex crimes against two teenage girls, a Logansport man landed himself a 20-year prison term.
In exchange for a lesser felony and fewer charges, 26-year-old Chad Shackelford pleaded guilty to child molesting and sexual misconduct with a minor. During a hearing Tuesday in Cass Superior Court II, Judge Rick Maughmer found Shackelford guilty and sentenced him to the maximum for a class B felony.
Shackelford, represented by public defender Jay Hirschauer, admitted having sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl and performing deviate sexual conduct with a 15-year-old. The girls, who are friends, had accused Shackelford of molesting them in the summer of 2006. The crimes reportedly occurred at Shackelford’s home in downtown Logansport.
The Cass County prosecutor’s office charged Shackelford with one class A felony count of child molesting and three counts of sexual misconduct with a minor. Part of the plea agreement negotiated by the defense and prosecution lowered the class A felony to a class B felony, dropping the maximum prison sentence from 50 to 20 years.
The prosecution also dropped two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor and a class B felony probation violation on a 2004 burglary sentence. For the sexual misconduct charge that stuck, Shackelford got four years, which will be served concurrently.
Deputy Prosecutor Randy Head told the court that the family of each victim approved of the plea deal. The victims preferred that Shackelford plead guilty instead of forcing them to testify about the personal nature of the offenses in open court, Head said.
“This was a good result for the victims and law enforcement,” Head said in a news release. “Both victims are pleased with the sentence and ready to move on with their lives.”
Shackelford has an extensive criminal history. In 2004, he was arrested on burglary and theft charges and later sentenced to 10 years, which was served in jail, on in-home detention and on probation.
In October 2006, Shackelford violated his probation, and a judge reinstated 356 days of his sentence and extended his probation by three years.
Shackelford was arrested for child molesting in April 2007. In June of that year, Cass/Pulaski Community Corrections filed a probation violation with the court. His public defender at the time asked the violation case be tracked with the child molesting charges.
At the hearing Tuesday, Shackelford confirmed with the judge that he was being sentenced under the old law, where a convicted child molester can serve 50 percent of a prison term as long as the offender does not get into further trouble.
Shackelford pleaded guilty before July 1, so he will serve half of his sentence if he receives credit for good-time behavior. A new law now provides that those found guilty of child molesting must serve 85 percent of their sentences.
Shackelford was credited with 400 days of time served in jail. With good behavior, those days are doubled, meaning Shackelford could be out of prison in less than nine years.
Kevin Lilly can be reached at (574) 732-5117, or via e-mail at kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com