Lafayette inmate caught sending explicit letters to 9-year-old faces longer sentence
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) – A Lafayette man faces more prison time for what he’s accused of doing while serving a 20-year sentence for child molesting.
Fifty-two-year-old Ronald Emery has been convicted of child molesting in both Benton and Clinton counties. Now, he faces charges in Tippecanoe County.
Emery was scheduled to be released from prison Monday, but police say he somehow managed to victimize a 9-year-old child from behind bars.
When a child molesting case is closed, certain steps must be followed.
“It’s our requirement to set up a safety plan, so that the perpetrator does not have access to the child,” said Angela Smith Grossman, Tippecanoe County Department of Child Services regional manager.
But in Emery’s case, a safety plan wasn’t good enough.
According to police, Emery managed to get letters, phone calls and photos to and from the victim while in the New Castle Correctional Facility.
“This particular situation isn’t something that we encounter frequently,” Smith Grossman said.
The Indiana Department of Corrections said its facilities go through thousands of pieces of mail per day.
“It is probably inevitable that some improper correspondence will make it through the inspection unnoticed, especially when a primary focus is to identify and seize contraband,” Chief Communications Officer Doug Garrison said.
He said IDOC used the incident to re-emphasize the importance of diligent searches.
DCS, however, is emphasizing the importance of vigilant caretakers.
“I’m always looking to put in information to the public about the creative nature of folks that want to offend sexually,” Smith Grossman said.
Emery now faces charges of vicarious sexual gratification, inappropriate communication with a child, being a habitual offender and a repeat sex offender.
Emery is currently being held at the Tippecanoe County Jail on a $100,000 cash bond.