Woman Sentenced In Child Molesting Case
COLUMBIA CITY — Jessica Kissinger, 20, Churubusco, was sentenced to 14 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections today in Whitley Circuit Court. Kissinger was convicted of molesting a child on three different occasions in 2013 and 2014.
Prosecuting Attorney Matthew J. Rentschler argued for a stiff sentence: “The court needs to consider the lasting effect this will have on the child as she enters young adulthood and beyond. The child will never be able to forget what has happened to her.”
Judge James Heuer issued the sentence after hearing testimony from several of Kissinger’s family members and former co-workers. He then listened to arguments from the prosecutor and defense counsel.
Kissinger and her husband, John R. Kissinger, were initially charged with five counts each of child molesting and child exploitation. They were accused of making several videos over the course of a year as they molested a girl who was between 4 and 8 years old. They were arrested in early July 2015.
The investigation began in late June 2015 when a digital storage device containing the videos was given to Indiana State Police. Several of the videos show the same young girl as the couple molest her, adding the girl appeared to be asleep or unconscious in at least two of the videos.
The couple was initially held on $100,000 bond each.
John Kissinger is scheduled for a three-day jury trial to begin at 9 a.m. Feb. 23.