Chase Receives 20 Years In Child Molest Case

On Friday, May 8, in the Jefferson County Circuit Court, Chase pled guilty to one count of Child Molesting, a Level 1 Felony.

Photo Courtesy of Jefferson County Prosecutors Office 

(Madison, Ind.) - A Madison, Indiana man serving time in the Indiana Department of Correction for Battery Resulting in Bodily Injury to a Minor and Battery on a Pregnant Woman recently confessed to molesting a five-year-old child. The man, Christian D.L. Chase, 27, was sentenced in August of 2019 for those crimes to a total of 7 years, with 2 suspended.

“I’m glad to have a child molester out of our community and to be able to finally serve justice for this young victim,” said Prosecutor David Sutter. “I am hopeful the victim can now begin to heal from the abuse knowing his perpetrator is behind bars.”

The investigation into the molest and Chase’s subsequent confession began at the August sentencing hearing when the mother of the victim told the Indiana State Police her child disclosed to her he had been forced to perform sexual acts on a person identified as Christian D.L. Chase.

The child victim was interviewed at the Child Advocacy Center in Madison and he again disclosed that he had been forced to perform oral sex on Chase while he was staying at the residence of Christian and Katie Chase. Other family members also confirmed the child had periodically stayed with the Chase’s while his caregiver and grandfather was at work.

On November 14, 2019, Detectives Nate Adams and Andrew Mitchell of the Indiana State Police interviewed Christian Chase about these allegations at the Indiana Department of Correction. Chase admitted that when he was babysitting the child victim, he did make the child perform the sex act and further admitted that he knew this was wrong.

“The State Police did a great job in leading this investigation to its conclusion. I also want to thank the Child Advocacy Center for their excellent work in these often difficult cases,” said Sutter.

On Friday, May 8, in the Jefferson County Circuit Court, Chase pled guilty to one count of Child Molesting, a Level 1 Felony. He was sentenced to the Indiana Department of Correction for a term of 20 years to be served consecutively with his existing sentence stemming from the other charges. He will receive no credit for time served or any earned credit pursuant to his plea agreement. In addition, Chase shall be subject to the requirements of the Indiana sex offender registry.