Man found guilty of 5 counts molestation

BROWNSTOWN - A Medora man was convicted Wednesday of five counts of child molesting, all Class A felonies.

Timothy E. Hobbs, 41, was found guilty during a jury trial that began Tuesday, according to a press release issued by Sgt. Don Gregory, public information officer for the Indiana State Police.

Timothy Hobbs' father, Richard E. Hobbs, 60, Brownstown, pleaded guilty on May 11 to one count of child molesting, a Class A felony. He was sentenced on June 8 to 25 years in the Indiana Department of Correction.

Richard and Timothy Hobbs were charged on Jan. 29, 2009, by the office of Richard Poynter, prosecuting attorney for Jackson County. The two cases involved the serial child molestation of the same female who was under the age of 14 at the time of the report in January.

Master Trooper Detectives Roger Drew and Jan Graves investigated both cases after a family member of the victim reported the sexual abuse to law enforcement.

"Timothy Hobbs exercised his right to trial by jury, and was convicted after a two-day jury trial, which began on July 7th," said Chief Deputy Prosecutor AmyMarie Travis, who tried the case against Timothy Hobbs. "The eight-man, four-woman jury panel deliberated approximately 17 minutes before delivering guilty verdicts on five counts of child molesting, all Class A felonies.

"I am very proud of this young female victim, who was very brave and poised while testifying about her abuse," said Travis, who also commended Master Trooper Detectives Graves and Drew for their work throughout the investigation.

Timothy Hobbs is scheduled for sentencing at 10 a.m. Aug. 4. A Class A felony is punishable by 20 to 50 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.