Sharon Hernandez

shernandez@etruth.com

GOSHEN — An Elkhart man who was convicted of child molesting was sentenced Thursday at Superior Court 3.

Tim Lee Hyser, 54, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He was found guilty on one count of child molesting, a Class A felony, and one count of child molesting, a Class C felony.

According to a press release from the Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office, during jury trial, deputy prosecuting attorney Jennifer Martin introduced evidence that Hyser had a child perform oral sex on him on several occasions while he was baby-sitting the child. The victim gave testimony that he fondled the child as well.

After the victim tried to stop Hyser by saying he or she had told their parents about the abuse, Hyser contacted the Department of Child Services, alleging the child was being abused by the child’s stepfather.

Detective Chuck Osterday of the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department investigated the allegation and found no supporting evidence against the child’s stepfather. During the investigation, the child told Osterday about being sexually abused by Hyser.

At his sentencing hearing, Hyser maintained his innocence, when he was asked by Judge George Biddlecome if there were any changes that had to be made in his pre-sentence report. When asked by the judge if he had something else to say, Hyser said no.

Martin asked the victim’s mother to testify, who asked for the maximum sentence of 54 years in prison.

“We trusted Tim, we thought he was a great guy. That he would never do this, but he did,” said the victim’s mother.

Hyser and his attorney said he plans to appeal. His attorney, William Cohen, said they plan to enter an appeal with the argument that they were not allowed to present all the defense’s evidence before the jury.