By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

Devan Mikel Adams

WARSAW — A Middlebury man will serve 9 1/2 years in prison for several crimes against children.

In the first case, Devan Mikel Adams, 34, Middlebury, was charged with attempted child exploitation, a level 5 felony. He was also charged with possession of child pornography, a level 6 felony, in a second case; and distribution of an intimate image, a class A misdemeanor, in a third case. Five additional criminal charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

Adams was sentenced in Kosciusko Superior Court One on Thursday, July 6.

For attempted child exploitation, Kosciusko Superior Court One Judge Karin McGrath sentenced Adams to six years in the Indiana Department of Correction. Adams also received a 2 1/2 year DOC sentence for possession of child pornography and a one-year DOC sentence for distribution of an intimate image.

All three cases will be served consecutively. A no-contact order between Adams and the child remains in effect, and Adams must register as a sex offender.

A restitution hearing for the case was scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 25. The child’s mother is requesting restitution for medical expenses she states she has as a result of Adams’ actions.

At sentencing, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Sobek read a letter from the mother. The letter detailed how traumatic Adams’ actions were to the child and their family.

“We live on high alert, fearful of further harm,” said the mother. “No child should have this type of fear. Not once has Devan apologized for his actions. I believe he will continue to harm others upon his release.”

The mother also attributed Adams’ actions resulting in her selling a house “now filled with memories of abuse and assault” and leaving Kosciusko County.

Defense Attorney Gregory Ridenour asked McGrath to consider several mitigators in the case, arguing Adams did not intend to harm anyone and that his criminal behavior was unlikely to reoccur.

Ridenour said Adams was addicted to voyeurism, noting it as a behavior Adams was working to correct. Several of Adams’ relatives also attended the sentencing in support of him.

“I wish I had the ability to apologize to (the victim) in person, but the no-contact order prevents that,” said Adams. “I don’t deny I hurt (them) and I do sincerely apologize for the pain I caused.”

McGrath noted that even though Adams has no prior criminal convictions, his actions occurred frequently over several years.

“You’ve caused them so much harm that they will struggle with this for the rest of their life,” said McGrath.

On Feb. 27, 2018, Indiana State Police investigated an unknown individual who uploaded images of child pornography to a social networking platform.

According to court documents, an ISP detective discovered the IP address responsible for uploading the images belonged to Adams. In a phone interview, Adams said if anyone sent him pornographic images of children, he immediately deleted them. Adams then abruptly ended the conversation.

On June 29, 2021, a Warsaw Police officer spoke with a teenager about Adams secretly recording them while they were getting dressed.

The teen noticed Adams’ cellphone was propped up on their bookcase and hidden behind other books. They also recalled a prior instance in 2020 where Adams concealed his cellphone in a stack of towels while the teen was in the shower.

Adams admitted to recording the teen in their room, and while they were getting in and out of the shower.

In July 2021, the ISP detective spoke with the Warsaw officer about Adams. Upon further investigation, officers accessed online accounts belonging to Adams and found fully nude images of the teen that were distributed online.

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