Perry
A convicted child molester from Ripley County will serve 10 years in prison after he traveled to Franklin to solicit a minor.
Ordis Daniel Gilbert Perry, 26, of Sunman, was sentenced to 10 years in an Indiana Department of Correction facility on charges of child solicitation, a Level 4 felony, and a repeat sex offender enhancement by Johnson County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Roesener Tuesday. As part of a plea agreement, a felony charge of dissemination of material harmful to minors and a misdemeanor charge of making an unlawful proposition were dismissed.
Detectives from both the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and the Franklin Police Department first became aware of Perry last November after he participated in online conversations with a person that he thought was 14 years old. In December, prosecutors say Perry solicited sex from who he thought was the 14-year-old girl through the internet application Kik.
Unbeknownst to Perry, he was actually messaging with an undercover detective from the sheriff’s office. He then traveled to Johnson County in an attempt to meet up with the fictional child, but was instead met by police and arrested, according to a Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office news release.
Perry was previously convicted of child molestation in July 2017 in Ripley County. He received a seven-year prison sentence, three years of which were suspended to probation. He was released on probation in November 2020 and was on probation still at the time of his arrest, according to online records.
He was also required to register as a sex offender, and has been listed as a “sexually violent predator” since November 2020, online records show.
The case was prosecuted by deputy prosecutor Briana Acker. Prosecutors say the case exemplifies local law enforcement’s “aggressive stance” on internet-based child predators.
“If you’re thinking about using the internet to prey on children in this community, we will find you and put you in a cage. We will not tolerate this kind of reprehensible behavior,” Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner said in a statement.
Non-emergency help dealing with sexual assault resources is available at Franklin-based ASSIST Indiana at 317-739-4456. For a complete list of resources from the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking, visit icesaht.org/get-help/. For emergency help dealing with sexual assault call or text 911 to report the crime.
