HANCOCK COUNTY — Sitting at the prosecution’s table, Jennifer Trattner clutched the tissue in her left hand.
When Judge Scott Sirk announced her son’s father, Kevin Bunch, would receive the maximum sentence for his crime in a plea agreement, she lowered her head and cried.
“It’s sad that it had to come to this,” Trattner said later. “Part of me thinks it’s not enough time, but part of me is just glad it’s over.”
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe sentencing Thursday in Hancock Circuit Court was closure for a crusade Trattner launched after her 7-month-old son, Asher, became mysteriously ill one day in July 2017. When she took him to a hospital with fits of vomiting and a 101-degree fever, Asher tested positive for cocaine. The baby’s father, Bunch, would be arrested; Trattner would fight to toughen parental visitation laws. A bill she championed sailed through the Indiana General Assembly during the recent session. Gov. Eric Holcomb signed Asher’s Law this week.
Bunch, 43, Indianapolis, told police he had snorted cocaine off a dinner plate with a rolled-up dollar bill near Asher’s crib, but that the baby had not been present.
Trattner argued repeatedly with judges to limit Bunch’s visitation time with their son. Trattner said that despite his history — which included a positive drug test as recently as December — judges had allowed Bunch to visit with Asher in supervised settings. The new law allows judges to order noncustodial parents such as Bunch to pay for drug tests as a condition of parental visitation.
Against that backdrop, Bunch appeared before Sirk at a change-of-plea hearing Thursday to seek leniency. Originally facing a single count of neglect of a dependent causing injury, a Level 5 felony, he agreed to plead guilty to a lesser felony charge of neglect.
Sirk accepted the agreement. Then he ordered Bunch to serve the maximum sentence, 2½ years.
Bunch will end up serving an estimated 18 months in the Hancock County Jail, probation officer Mary Kay Dobbs said.
During the hearing, Trattner, along with several family members and friends, wore shirts with the words “Justice for Asher” printed on them and large round pins showing a picture of the boy with his piercing blue eyes.
Asher, who is now 29 months old, has been diagnosed with global developmental delay associated with sensory issues, and he must attend therapy classes daily. Asher was meeting all his developmental milestones prior to ingesting the cocaine, his mother said after the sentencing.
Despite the health issues, the child is making progress. Asher was able to learn how to walk when he was 23 months old, but he doesn’t talk as much as most children his age, Trattner said.
During the hearing, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Marie Castetter asked Sirk to hand down the harshest penalty penalty possible. She elicited testimony from Trattner, a family member and a family friend in support of her recommendation.
Bunch’s attorney, Christopher Isom, asked for a lighter sentence after Bunch’s sister; a recovery counselor; and Bunch spoke during the hearing. Isom was hoping for home detention so Bunch could continue taking recovery classes, he said.
However, it was noted during the hearing that Bunch still has an addiction problem. He tested positive for marijuana in December of 2018, and it was noted he continues to drink alcohol.
The prosecution also brought to light Bunch’s social media accounts and presented records showing he was looking at 21 pornographic sites during the time his son was in the hospital.
“That says a lot,” Castetter said. “I have concerns the defendant is definitely not taking his recovery seriously.”
Bunch told the judge he was remorseful and had suffered shame and guilt for what he did to his son. He said he was not proud of what he had done.
Bunch, who has been allowed to see his son during supervised visits since the incident, told the court he’d do anything he had to do to be able to keep seeing Asher.
“I’m begging you to let me see my son,” Bunch said. “Seeing him is the most important thing in my life.”
Judge Sirk expressed concerns over Bunch’s use of drugs and said despite Bunch’s statement about his love for Asher, Bunch’s continued drug use and behavior made the judge fearful Bunch would continue using drugs if he was on home detention.
Prior to handing down the ruling, Sirk reminded everyone that it’s important to forgive and move forward. Particularly so in this case, he said, where both the mother and father have a young son to think about.
Afterward, Trattner said it will take a long time to forgive her son’s father for what he did. But she is looking forward to the future.
“This is a fresh start for us, and I feel that now that it’s over we can take a deep breath and start our life again,” Trattner said.
She left the courthouse with one final though: Trattner is urging judges to listen to more cases like hers where children are in harm’s way because of parents using drugs.
“There are too many children that are being put at risk when they should not be,” she said.
