Hankins
A former Seymour man received a 58-year prison sentence after a jury found him guilty on three felony charges.
Jason M. Hankins, 43, of Henryville will spend 38 years in the Indiana Department of Correction on the first count of child molesting, a Level 1 felony, and 10 years for the second count of incest, a Level 4 felony. Those sentences are to be served concurrently.
He also was ordered to serve 10 years for a conviction on a third count of sexual misconduct with a minor, a Level 4 felony. That sentence is to be served consecutively to the first two counts, so Hankins will serve a total of 48 years.
Jackson Circuit Court Judge Richard W. Poynter announced the sentences during a hearing Nov. 2 in his courtroom at the Jackson County Judicial Center in Brownstown.
On the first two counts, Hankins will receive 72 days of actual credit and 24 days of good time credit for time already served from April 2 to 16, 2020, and Sept. 7 to Nov. 2 of this year.
The court states Hankins will pay court costs, a $100 child abuse prevention fee, a $500 sexual assault victim assistance fee and a $400 public defender service fee.
After 12 people were selected for the jury, a trial was conducted Sept. 6 and 7 in Jackson Circuit Court with Jackson County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Mark Hollingsworth representing the state and Jeremy Braunstein representing the defendant.
The jury found Hankins guilty on the three charges, and Poynter then ordered a presentence investigation report be prepared by the Jackson County Probation Department and filed with the court, state and defendant by counsel by no less than three days prior to sentencing.
A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Oct. 6, but that was canceled after Poynter granted a motion for a continuance. The hearing was rescheduled for Nov. 2.
When Hankins was arrested in late March 2020, he was living in Seymour. Earlier that year, the Seymour Police Department began investigating a report of child molestation.
According to the probable cause affidavit signed by Detective Troy Munson, the investigation uncovered several incidents involving a child and Hankins over a number of years. That led to the other charges being filed.
A Jackson Circuit Court warrant was issued for Hankins, and he was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown.
A jury trial had been scheduled for Sept. 29, 2020, but was canceled a little more than a month before when Poynter granted a motion for continuance.
The trial was reset for three different dates in 2021 and for March 8 of this year, but they all were canceled after continuances were granted.
A June 7 trial date was canceled, too, before the trial was conducted in early September.
In Indiana, a Level 1 felony carries a sentence of 20 to 40 years with an advisory sentence of 30 years, and a Level 4 felony is punishable by two to 12 years with an advisory sentence of six years.