Staff Report

WARSAW — A Pierceton man will serve four years on probation after pleading guilty to incest.

Kevin Michael Newcomer, 41, 8280 E. U.S. 30 Lot 6, Pierceton, was sentenced to four years at the Indiana Department of Correction Thursday, June 13.

Kevin Michael Newcomer

Pursuant to the terms of a plea agreement, all four years were suspended and will be served on formal probation.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, on Nov. 8, 2022, a woman said she looked through Newcomer’s cellphone and found intimate messages alluding to a sexual relationship with an unnamed individual. The woman spoke with a Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office detective about the messages.

The individual involved in the messages was interviewed by a KCSO deputy on Nov. 22, 2022. According to court documents, the person said Newcomer instigated conversations of a sexual nature with them and asked to cuddle.

According to court documents, the person said they cuddled with Newcomer between May and October 2021, with the cuddling resulting in the two having sexual intercourse. Data recovered from Newcomer’s cellphone revealed overtly sexual messages between Newcomer and the person, accompanied by nude images of the two.

DNA samples from both Newcomer and the person were sent to an Indiana State Police laboratory for DNA comparison on Feb. 23, 2023.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Sobek read a victim impact statement in which the victim stated that Newcomer had turned family members and friends against them by not telling the truth about what happened.

In the letter, the victim referred to Newcomer as a “monster.”

Kosciusko Superior Court One Judge Karin McGrath told Newcomer, “I think that’s a fair assessment. (The victim) thought they could trust you, but instead, according to the case file anyway, you chose to groom the victim to use them for your own desires.”

McGrath further said, “I can only hope that (the victim) is being provided with the help they need with the enormous violation of trust at your hands.”

A no-contact order was issued between Newcomer and the victim. Newcomer is ordered to register as a sex offender. He must follow all rules of probation as well as all Indiana sex offender rules. In addition, Newcomer was ordered to undergo counseling specific to maladaptive sexual behavior and to undergo a mental health assessment and to comply with all recommendations.