ANDERSON — A detective testified during a sentencing hearing Thursday that a 17-year-old former foreign exchange student did not want his host mother put in jail for having sex with him.
Anderson police Detective Heather McClain testified in Madison Circuit Court that an interpreter spoke with the victim and told her the victim did not want 32-year-old Tricia D. Mallernee to go to prison.
“(The interpreter) said they had no objection to the plea agreement or the sentencing,” McClain testified. “(The victim) was glad there would be no prison time to Ms. Mallernee because he did not want to see her children without their mother.”
As per the terms of a plea agreement with prosecutors, Judge Fredrick Spencer gave Mallernee a three-year suspended sentence on each of four counts of child solicitation. The judge gave Mallernee a one-year suspended sentence for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor.
Mallernee declined comment at the sentencing hearing on her attorney’s advice.
All of the sentences will be served at the same and she must register as a sex offender. Mallernee pleaded guilty as charged on June 3.
According to court documents:
Mallernee began having sex with the 17-year-old student about two weeks after his arrival in early July 2008.
The sexual relationship continued through April. The teen told investigators he initially wanted to be in the relationship. But later he tried to end it, fearing Mallernee was becoming “emotionally attached and he did not feel the same way.”
Mallernee allegedly threatened to have the boy removed from the home if he ended the relationship, law enforcement officials said. He told investigators that he was afraid that moving to a new home would mean having to stop participating in school activities. He continued in the relationship.
Although 17 is old enough to consent to a sexual relationship, because Mallernee was the teen’s host mother, she was considered his legal custodian, making her guilty of child seduction under Indiana law.
The relationship came to the attention of Indiana Department of Children’s Services case workers, who then contacted police. The Herald Bulletin doesn’t general identify sex crime victims.
Contact Shawn McGrath: 640-4883, shawn.mcgrath@heraldbulletin.com
Cops, courts and fires
Woman gets suspended sentence for child seduction
- Cops, courts and fires
-
-
Arrest Log: Feb. 13
Arrests made by Madison County law enforcement on Saturday, based on Madison County Jail records. Charges are recommended by arresting officers, but are not final until the Madison County prosecutor reviews the case and files official charges.
-
Muncie mayor keeps pledge, reopens 2 fire houses
Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler has reopened two closed fire stations, keeping a promise he made in his successful campaign last fall.
-
Arrest Log: Feb. 12
Arrests made by Madison County law enforcement on Friday and Saturday, based on Madison County Jail records. Charges are recommended by arresting officers but are not final until the Madison County prosecutor reviews the case and files official charges.
-
Indiana judge dismisses charges against ex-Pitt coach
An Indiana judge has dismissed a domestic battery charge against former Notre Dame offensive coordinator Michael Haywood, who served briefly as Pittsburgh's head football coach before the case led to his firing.
-
Man sentenced to 40 years for sex with teen
A man convicted of having a sexual relationship with a minor was sentenced Monday to 40 years in prison.
-
Brother allegedly stabs brother in Elwood
Another brother-on-brother stabbing occurred in Elwood Thursday, according to Elwood Police Department Chief Sam Hanna.
-
Arrest log: Feb. 11
Arrests made by Madison County law enforcement on Wednesday through Friday, based on jail records.
-
Police: Man stabbed by brother
Police responded to the report of a stabbing early Thursday morning.
-
Arrest log: Feb. 9
Arrests made by Madison County law enforcement on Wednesday and Thursday, based on Madison County Jail records. Charges are recommended by arresting officers, but are not final until the Madison County Prosecutor reviews the case and files official charges.
-
Police report human remains in Grant County
Human remains were uncovered by police Thursday morning in Grant County.
- More Cops, courts and fires Headlines
-
Arrest Log: Feb. 13
