Published: September 21, 2009 08:27 pm      

Suspect admits abuse

Plea deal means victims won’t have to testify

A Royal Center man accused of sexually abusing three girls over an 18-year period pleaded guilty on the eve of a jury trial set to begin in Cass Circuit Court this week.

On Thursday, 45-year-old Mark D. Black Sr. admitted to the allegations and signed a plea deal calling for 22 years in the Indiana Department of Correction and three years on probation for a class A felony charge of child molesting and class D felony charges of sexual battery and vicarious sexual gratification.

By reaching the agreement, the prosecution and defense avoided a jury trial that would have required the victims to testify.

“The victims are very pleased not to have to go to trial,” said Chief Deputy Prosecutor Lisa Swaim on Monday. “This has been a very difficult process for them. They have been through a lot, and this plea is definitely in their best interests.”

The charges against Black, who remains out of jail on a $50,000 surety bond, stem from incidents that occurred in Logansport and Cass County between 1989 and 2007. Black surrendered in October 2007 after a three-week investigation by the Logansport Police Department into reports that surfaced through Child Protective Services.

The Cass County prosecutor’s office initially filed six felony counts in the case. As part of the plea agreement, half of those will be dismissed. Swaim said each of the three remaining counts involves a different victim.

Although the prosecution believed it had a strong case, Swaim said, providing Black with the chance to plead guilty to lesser counts saves the victims from testifying in detail about sexual abuse in front of a courtroom full of strangers and family members.

Judge Leo Burns has taken terms of the plea deal under advisement.

Sentencing is set for 1 p.m. Oct. 15. If convicted, Black is expected to spend at least 11 years in prison.

An obstruction of justice case against Black’s wife, 46-year-old Victoria D. Black, is pending. She is accused of offering $4,000 to one of the victims in exchange for her silence. If convicted on the obstruction charge, Victoria Black faces a sentence of six months to three years.

• Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at (574) 732-5117 or kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com