Two Johnson County men who were facing criminal charges have pled guilty and been sentenced for sexual misconduct with a minor and dealing methamphetamine, respectively.
The Daily Journal has previously reported on these cases and is sharing this update to give resolution to our earlier reporting on crime in the community.
Probation for sexual misconduct with a minor
A Trafalgar man will serve about 5.7 years on probation for sexual misconduct with a minor.
Michael K. Miller, 37, was given a six-year sentence for one count of the Level 4 felony on Friday by Johnson County Superior Court 3 Judge Douglas Cummins. He was previously found guilty of the charge following a one-day bench trial on Oct. 25.
The majority of the sentence — about 5.7 years — was suspended to active probation. Ninety days of his sentence is executed in prison with a 45-day jail credit, meaning 45 additional days will be spent in prison, according to online court records.
Miller was ordered to serve the first year of his sentence on work release followed by a year of home detention, with the rest to be spent on probation. He was also ordered to complete substance abuse and sex offender treatment, online court records say.
The investigation into Miller began in September 2019 after a 15-year-old girl told police she was spending the night in Miller’s home with a friend following a birthday party when Miller touched her inappropriately, according to a probable cause affidavit filed the following month.
The victim allegedly told police she and her friend were doing each other’s hair and makeup when Miller came into the room and asked to participate. The girls then put makeup on Miller and he asked to wear the victim’s undergarments and clothing to make it more “realistic,” according to the affidavit.
Miller then allegedly told the other teen to go downstairs in the home and make him another alcoholic beverage. When she left the room, Miller allegedly touched the victim inappropriately in three places and told her he wanted to perform a sex act on her, the affidavit said.
The victim allegedly told police she was scared and thought if she stopped him, he would rape her, according to court documents.
That night, she slept with a knife on the bed in the room furthest from the door in case Miller came back into the room, the affidavit said.
Miller allegedly apologized the following morning, then tried to contact the victim through a social media app, the affidavit said.
Miller told police he was drunk that evening and blacked out. He allegedly said it was possible that he touched her inappropriately, but could not remember.
12-year sentence for meth dealing
A Franklin man has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 12 years for dealing methamphetamine in a public park.
Erick Matthew Kilpatrick, 30, pleaded guilty to two counts of dealing meth, both Level 4 felonies, before Johnson County Superior Court 2 Judge Peter Nugent on Nov. 23. He was sentenced the same day to 12 years, according to online court records.
The 12-year sentence was divided into segments with four years executed to work release, four years suspended to home detention and four years suspended to active probation. Kilpatrick also received a 331-day jail credit, online records show.
Franklin police gathered evidence that Kilpatrick sold more than 3 grams of meth during two separate deals in October 2019 at two locations in the city, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Kilpatrick, who pleaded guilty to child molesting in 2010, had one charge of dealing methamphetamine elevated because the drugs were sold in the presence of children at a public park, court documents said.
A warrant was issued for his arrest in March 2020, but Kilpatrick was not arrested until almost a year later in 2021. That was because he was already serving a sentence at the Indiana Department of Correction for failing to register as a sex offender, police said last year.
