Kirk Dale Lonas is escorted from the Hancock County Court House by a Hancock County Sheriff’s Department jail official earlier this week during the jury trial.
HANCOCK COUNTY — The fate of a Greeenfield man, Kirk Dale Lonas was handed over to a Hancock County jury of eight men and four women arouund 1:50 p.m. Friday afternoon. The verdict was not determined by print deadline.
Earlier in the day Lonas took the stand in his own defense in the Level 1 felony molest case being heard in Hancock County Circuit Court this week overseen by Judge Scott Sirk. His testimony came during the final day of testimony before the case was turned over to the jury.
During testimony Friday morning Lonas fought back tears when asked if he molested or harmed the two girls who had been accused him of touching them inappropriately starting four years ago.
“No,” Lonas stated answering public defender Myron Rahn’s question about molesting the girls who were both 12 years old at the time of the reported incidents.
Lonas, 59, 1000 block of King Maple Drive, had been charged with two separate Level 1 felony counts of child molesting and two separate Level 4 felony counts of molesting. Lonas has been accused of molesting two children in Greenfield on multiple occasions at two Greenfield different residences from July 2019 through August 2020.
Hancock County chief prosecutor Aimee Herring officially rested the state’s side of the case first thing Friday morning after calling 10 witnesses during several days of testimony earlier this week. The defense then presented its side calling only two witnesses which included having the defendant testify.
Lonas told the court he first became aware of the allegations of molest against him when he was served a protection order telling him to stay away from the family he had lived with. When asked about learning the details of the charges against him Lonas told the court he was “shocked.”
Lonas noted he didn’t have anywhere to stay after being told he had to move out of the house he shared with the four children, including the two alleged victims and their mother. When Lonas found he was going to be arrested he noted he went for a drive to clear his head after getting some work done and ended up out of state. Lonas said he planned to turn himself into police after learning there was a warrant for his arrest but ended up in Missouri where he was eventually captured by police there and returned to Hancock County.
Following the defenses’ presentation of the case, both sides presented closing arguments before Sirk read instructions to the jury and gave them the case to settle.
In her closing arguments, Herring noted the state had done it’s job presenting enough evidence to convict Lonas on all charges.
“These kids had no motivation to lie,” Herring said. “I ask you to return ‘guilty’ on all four counts,” Herring said.
The chief public defender Jeremy Teipen told the jury during his closing statements that the stories of Lonas molesting the the girls was ridiculous and that his client was innocent.
“There are so many inconsistencies in the stories I can’t count them all,” Teipen said. “None of it happened, none of it at all.”
The Daily Reporter will post updates on the jury’s decision as soon as possible.
