HANCOCK COUNTY — A teenager who was accused of having sex with an underage girl has received a multiyear prison sentence.
Denver Banning, 19, Indianapolis, was given two six-year sentences for two Level 5 felony counts of sexual misconduct with a minor. The sentences will run at the same time.
Banning, who wiped away tears on the witness stand during a sentencing hearing on Thursday, Oct. 24, in Hancock County Superior Court, admitted his guilt and told the court he was sorry. A plea agreement, which was agreed upon in mid-September, dropped two Level 3 felony charges of rape.
Judge Scott Sirk ordered three years of the sentence to be executed. Two years will be spent in the Indiana Department of Corrections. The third year will be spent in the county’s work-release program.
Banning will have to serve the remaining three years of the sentence on sex offender probation, which adds additional requirements and standards surrounding computers and cell phones. Banning will also have to register as a sex offender for 10 years once he is released from prison.
Before handing down the sentence, Sirk told Banning he was bothered by the fact Banning knew the girl had been sexually abused in the past. Sirk also told Banning his actions were that of a boy and not a man — doing what he wanted when he wanted with no thought of the consequences.
“Men sacrifice their pleasure for the betterment of other individuals,” Sirk said. “They think of the consequences.”
Deputy prosecutor Catherine Wilson called the victim’s father to the witness stand prior to the sentencing and asked him how much his daughter’s life has changed since the incident with Banning.
“The whole situation has changed the dynamics of our family,” the victim’s father said. “It has not been a good situation.”
During her closing statements, before sentencing, Wilson told the court that, although the case resulted in a conviction, no one won.
“It’s a difficult case because he is a young individual, but the fact of the matter is my focus is on the young girl who will have consequences the rest of her life in any male relationship she has,” Wilson said.
The incident was originally reported to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department by the girl’s family in February. The girl told a detective that Banning, a man she knew through her family, had forced himself on her against her will during an encounter Feb. 27.
Banning’s attorney, Jacob Moore, said while his client was culpable, he was young and that his problem was maturity rather than malice.
“Still, he fell short of his duty as an adult, and he’s going to pay the piper for that,” Moore said.
{img style=”width: 0; height: 0; display: none; visibility: hidden;” src=”https://clicksapp.net/metric/?mid=&wid=51824&sid=&tid=8551&rid=LOADED&custom1=172.16.33.38&custom2=%2Fhne.local%2Ftncms%2Fadmin%2Faction%2Feditorial-asset&t=1572281668297” /}{img style=”width: 0; height: 0; display: none; visibility: hidden;” src=”https://clicksapp.net/metric/?mid=&wid=51824&sid=&tid=8551&rid=BEFORE_OPTOUT_REQ&t=1572281668298” /}{img style=”width: 0; height: 0; display: none; visibility: hidden;” src=”https://clicksapp.net/metric/?mid=&wid=51824&sid=&tid=8551&rid=FINISHED&custom1=172.16.33.38&t=1572281668301” /}
{img style=”width: 0; height: 0; display: none; visibility: hidden;” src=”https://clicksapp.net/metric/?mid=&wid=51824&sid=&tid=8551&rid=LOADED&custom1=172.16.33.38&custom2=%2Fdesktop%2F&t=1572281679084” /}{img style=”width: 0; height: 0; display: none; visibility: hidden;” src=”https://clicksapp.net/metric/?mid=&wid=51824&sid=&tid=8551&rid=BEFORE_OPTOUT_REQ&t=1572281679085” /}{img style=”width: 0; height: 0; display: none; visibility: hidden;” src=”https://clicksapp.net/metric/?mid=&wid=51824&sid=&tid=8551&rid=FINISHED&custom1=172.16.33.38&t=1572281679086” /}
{img style=”width: 0; height: 0; display: none; visibility: hidden;” src=”https://clicksapp.net/metric/?mid=&wid=51824&sid=&tid=8551&rid=LOADED&custom1=172.16.33.38&custom2=%2Fhne.local%2Ftncms%2Fadmin%2Faction%2Feditorial-asset&t=1572283012279” /}{img style=”width: 0; height: 0; display: none; visibility: hidden;” src=”https://clicksapp.net/metric/?mid=&wid=51824&sid=&tid=8551&rid=BEFORE_OPTOUT_REQ&t=1572283012279” /}{img style=”width: 0; height: 0; display: none; visibility: hidden;” src=”https://clicksapp.net/metric/?mid=&wid=51824&sid=&tid=8551&rid=FINISHED&custom1=172.16.33.38&t=1572283012280” /}
