A jury has reached a verdict in the trial of a southern Indiana teen accused of raping a child on a school bus. Landon Doty, 16, was tried as an adult on a dozen felony charges, including child molestation, rape and sexual battery.He was found guilty Wednesday on all charges.Police said the North Vernon teen assaulted a nonverbal 7-year-old last year on their school bus when he was 15, and that it was caught on video. Jurors were the only ones allowed to see that video during trial. Doty testified in his own defense, claiming he was innocent. He said what happened on the bus was a “calming technique.”>> Read more about the trial here.A classmate of Doty’s testified Tuesday, saying Doty told him about the assault. But the defense argued the claim was made before it happened.Attorneys also said Doty’s DNA was not found on the victim. The most serious felony charges, rape and child molesting, carry a maximum prison sentence of 16 years. The sentencing date has not yet been set.
NORTH VERNON, Ind. —
A jury has reached a verdict in the trial of a southern Indiana teen accused of raping a child on a school bus.
Landon Doty, 16, was tried as an adult on a dozen felony charges, including child molestation, rape and sexual battery.
He was found guilty Wednesday on all charges.
Police said the North Vernon teen assaulted a nonverbal 7-year-old last year on their school bus when he was 15, and that it was caught on video.
Jurors were the only ones allowed to see that video during trial.
Doty testified in his own defense, claiming he was innocent. He said what happened on the bus was a “calming technique.”
>> Read more about the trial here.
A classmate of Doty’s testified Tuesday, saying Doty told him about the assault. But the defense argued the claim was made before it happened.
Attorneys also said Doty’s DNA was not found on the victim.
The most serious felony charges, rape and child molesting, carry a maximum prison sentence of 16 years.
The sentencing date has not yet been set.