Indianapolis man sentenced to 105 years for child molestation
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis man was sentenced to 105 years on Wednesday after being found guilty of child molestation.
Shawn Herring, 48, was found guilty on seven counts of child molestation after being arrested back in May 2020.
The girl, now 15 years old, told investigators in 2020 that Herring, her adoptive father, had started touching her when she was 10 and forced himself on her. Court papers say the girl told police felt safe with her adoptive mom, but was afraid of Herring.
According to court documents, Herring told the girl “not to tell anyone” and “it would be their secret.”
The girl told police “she didn’t want Herring to get in trouble and said she ‘yearned’ for relationship with
her father, she didn’t care what was happening, she just wanted to get out of the foster care system finally
and be in her adopted home,” court papers read.
Herring later admitted to police that he touched the girl inappropriately but never reported the behavior to anyone, although he was a foster parent when the abuse occurred and was required to report it.
