Jonathen Lovelace

WARSAW — The trial for alleged child molester Jonathen Lovelace, 23, continued today, Jan. 18.

The Deputy Prosecutor Katy Hampton called Kelly Bugg, an employee with Kosciusko County Department of Child Services, to the stand.

Bugg testified she had spoken with with the victim after DCS had been notified of the allegations against Lovelace.

During the trial, the court played a video recording of the DCS employee’s interview with the victim. In the footage, the 5-year-old victim can be seen speaking with Bugg.

The victim then went on to explain that on Oct. 27, when she and Lovelace had been playing under the bed, he had grabbed her hand and put it on his penis. He told her to keep it a secret from her mom so she would not get in trouble. The victim stated he called the game they played, “Beautiful girls and handsome boys.”

The victim stated that was the only time she could remember that an incident like that had occurred with Lovelace. She stated he had never touched her private parts or her chest, he had only forced her to touch him that way the one time.

Lovelace’s attorney Matthew Buehler then cross-examined Bugg. He asked if Bugg knew what information she was trying to elicit from the victim prior to their interview. Bugg stated she knew what the victim had said occurred between her and Lovelace; however, Bugg said she only wanted to elicit the truth from the victim.

After Bugg’s testimony, the State rested its case. Buehler asked for an acquittal for Lovelace, but the motion was denied.

Buehler began his case by asking that the victim’s testimony in a competency hearing prior to the trial be read and put into evidence. In the competency hearing, Buehler and Hampton asked the victim questions to ascertain whether or not she would be able to testify at trial. They decided she would not be able to.

She stated she did tell Bugg the truth in their interview. She further indicated that no one had told her to lie on the stand; rather, her mother had told her to tell the truth. She said she did play touching games with Lovelace and did touch him when they were under the bed.

Buehler called Lovelace to the stand to give his testimony. Lovelace stated he did go over to the residence on the evening the alleged incident occurred. He stated he had come to the home to make amends with the family after he had had a “falling out” with the victim’s father. He mentioned he had roughhoused with the victim at the beginning of the evening.

“It was commonplace to be playmates,” said Buehler.

Lovelace mentioned he and the victim later went in her bedroom to play with toys. They later moved to play under the bed, which was normal for the family. Earlier in the trial the victim’s father had mentioned he had played under the bed a few times with the victim.

He stated they played games on his phone and pretend games such as “Batman and Robin” and “lions and cubs.” He stated the victim’s mother came in to tell them to get out from under the bed. Lovelace mentioned the victim was not supposed to play under there anymore because she had bumped her head there previously.

He indicated they ignored the mother’s request and continued to play under the bed. About 15 minutes later the victim’s father came into the room and again asked them to get out from under the bed. This time they complied.

Lovelace said he hung out with the family for a while longer that night. He denied that anything inappropriate had occurred between him and the victim. The next day, Lovelace came over to the home after the victim had asked if she could see him. He talked with the victim’s mother when he came over, but nothing was said about the alleged incident.

During the cross-examination, Hampton stated, “You had a special relationship with her.”

Hampton brought attention to the fact that despite the victim’s mother’s request that the two come out from under the bed, Lovelace stayed under the bed with the victim.

“You stayed under that bed for at least 15 more minutes…Is that because your pants were down?”

Hampton indicated that the victim’s mother would not have been able to see if Lovelace’s pants were open while he was under the bed with the victim.

She further stated that for such a restrictive area, it would have been difficult to play pretend games such as “Batman and Robin” or “lions and cubs” as Lovelace had testified. When asked if Lovelace and the victim had ever played a game called “beautiful girls and handsome boys,” Lovelace replied they never had. He stated he did not know where the victim got the name from.

Buehler mentioned that in a previous cause, Lovelace had pleaded guilty to armed robbery. He stated that Lovelace had not pleaded guilty in this case because he wasn’t guilty.

Hampton countered by asking, “But the only witness [in that case] was not a 5-year-old girl?”

The defense rested its case. The trial adjourned for lunch. When the trial resumes, closing arguments will be made and the jury will be dismissed to make their decision.