Grand jury indicts three on multiple child molesting charges
Three Jasper residents, Shaina Young, Nathan Flack, and Colton Norman were arrested last Thursday night on multiple charges of child molesting.
An investigation into allegations was initiated by the Jasper Police Department in March of 2020.
This is an update on this story from last week.
The three were indicted on Tuesday, March 15, 2022, by a Dubois County Grand Jury which convened on February 9, 2022. According to Dubois County Prosecuting Attorney Anthony Quinn, a grand jury hasn’t been convened in Dubois County for 15 to 20 years to his knowledge.
“Given the complex nature of the case, the victims and the alleged suspects, Stephanie (Smith, the deputy prosecutor handling the case) asked to convene the grand jury,” Quinn said by email.
He added that Smith has handled several cases involving a grand jury as a deputy prosecutor in another county, and she felt this case would be appropriate for the grand jury process.
Under Indiana law, a grand jury is a convening of six jurors and one alternative selected to hear and examine the evidence before charging individuals suspected of a crime. The grand jury can call and ask questions of witnesses and take action with respect to the evidence as provided by law. Five of the jurors and the prosecuting attorney must agree before charging an individual with a crime.
In this case, the grand jury indicted Young, Flack and Norman after hearing testimony from nearly two dozen witnesses and viewing hours of videotaped interviews. They are each charged with three Level 1 felony counts of child molesting and two Level 4 felony counts of child molesting. Young and Flack were also each charged with two counts of neglect of a dependent, Level 6 felonies.
All the incidents were alleged to have occurred in Jasper.
“I want to personally thank the citizens who served on this grand jury for their dedication to the pursuit of justice for these children and the protection of our community as a whole,” Quinn said. “Grand juries also play an important role in the due process of law and their service is appreciated.”
“I also want to thank members of our county’s Multi-Disciplinary Team, who worked tirelessly over the course of initial investigation and the Grand Jury investigation to develop the case and their teamwork led to this outcome,” he added. “I want to single out the Department of Child Services, community educators, Tammy Lampert and the staff of our Child Advocacy Center, members of the Jasper Police Department and the Indiana State Police as well as Investigator Rick Chambers and Deputy Prosecutor Stephanie Smith of my office for their efforts.”
Quinn also thanked Dubois County Circuit Court Judge Nathan Verkamp and his staff for accommodating the needs of this Grand Jury while maintaining a busy court docket to serve the needs of our citizens.
A charge of a crime is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty
