Prosecutors speak out on Locke case

VIGO CO., Ind. (WTHI) - Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt spoke out Wednesday about a plea agreement and sentence that have drawn public attention.

Earlier this week, Bradley Locke of Terre Haute was sentenced to two years of home detention after pleading guilty to sexual battery. That case dates back to March 2010, when Locke was arrested for reportedly sexually abusing a four-year-old girl at his home.

Though Locke was initially charged with child molestation, he later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of sexual battery under an agreement with prosecutors.

In a Wednesday-morning press conference, Modesitt answered inquiries about the plea agreement and the home-detention sentence. He said prosecutors chose to give Locke a plea agreement in hopes of guaranteeing that he would be convicted of a sex crime in the case.

Modesitt said the crime would have been harder to prove had the case gone to trial because prosecutors had no physical evidence of the crime and because the victim in the case, who was four-year-old at the time of the crime, could no longer recount the same details she first told investigators.

“In this case, at least we were able to negotiate a plea where the defendant is not allowed to have any contact with the victim,” Modesitt said. “He’s going to have to register on the sex offender, so the whole world’s on notice he’s a sex offender.”

Since Locke is now a convicted sex offender, Modesitt said he would also face stricter punishment for any future crimes.