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Daniel Joseph Anderson II

WARSAW — A Pierceton man was sentenced in Kosciusko Superior Court 1 Monday, Nov. 25, on a charge he received after inappropriately touching a child during a supervised visit in March. 

Daniel Joseph Anderson II, 32, 3104 E. Wooster Road 29, Pierceton, pleaded guilty to child molesting, a level 4 felony.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, on March 13, a Warsaw Police officer met with a caseworker in reference to suspected child molestation. 

The caseworker advised that Anderson had a supervised visitation with a child under 14 years of age after the child made a complaint in 2017 about Anderson touching her inappropriately.

The caseworker participated in a supervised visit between Anderson and the child on March 12 at a library. Anderson was sitting next to the child during the visit. The caseworker observed Anderson putting his hands under the table. 

The motions made by Anderson caused the caseworker to feel uncomfortable about the situation. The caseworker, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table, used her cell phone to record video under the table. The video, obtained by the police, showed Anderson forcing the child to touch his genitals and showed Anderson reaching for the waistband of the child’s pants.

After seeing what was recorded on her phone, the caseworker took the child away from the table, showed Anderson the video and told him to leave.

The officer spoke with the child, who confirmed the story the video portrayed. The child also told the officer about the inappropriate incident that occurred in 2017. A police report verified that on Aug. 23, 2017, an officer with the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of child molestation involving Anderson.

The victim’s aunt spoke in court prior to Judge David Cates’ ruling. 

“This child is a mentally handicapped child and this has affected her a great deal,” the child’s aunt told Cates. “He deserves whatever the max time is. This should not be taken lightly.”

The aunt then addressed Anderson directly.

“You disgust me. She is a child. You are a grown man. You know better,” she said. “You really need to think about what you did to this child. She has to live with this for the rest of her life.” 

The aunt confirmed that the victim’s mother was in the courtroom but was too emotional to make a statement.

Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Brad Voelz asked, “How can a person be so brazen as to molest a disabled child in a public library and cowardly enough to blame it on a medical condition?”

Voelz said the man blamed the incident on a health issue.

Anderson’s attorney, John Barrett, told the court it appears that Anderson has accepted full responsibility for his actions and has expressed remorse.

“I do apologize for my actions to the family and to the victim,” Anderson said. “I’m certain I’ll never commit a crime again,” Anderson told Cates he will never so much as jaywalk in the future.

“I don’t buy the remorse for a second,” Cates replied. “You chose to do this.”

Cates sentenced Anderson to 10 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections, with three years of that time suspended and to be served on formal probation.

Anderson was given 257 days of jail time credit and ordered to register as a sex offender. He was also ordered to undergo an assessment at the Bowen Center and to comply with any follow up.