By Robert Annis
Indianapolis Star
November 14, 2007
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071113/LOCAL/71113074/0/LOCAL0101
A former elder at College Park Church in Carmel faces 10 years in prison after pleading guilty today to molesting a 3-year-old girl he had been baby-sitting.
Terry Van Gorp, 57, pleaded guilty to a Class A felony charge of child molesting in Hamilton Superior Court. Prosecutors dropped two other felony charges of child molestation.
 |
| Under terms of a plea agreement, Terry Van Gorp, 57, Carmel, will be sentenced to 15 years, 10 to be served in prison and five years of probation. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 6. |
The original charges carried a penalty of 42 to 108 years in prison, but under terms of a plea agreement, Van Gorp will be sentenced to 15 years, 10 to be served in prison and five years of probation. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 6.
Van Gorp was ordered to report to the Hamilton County jail at 6 a.m. Friday, when his bond will be revoked.
Van Gorp's attorney, Vernon Lorenz, refused comment. Messages left for Hamilton County Prosecutor Sonia Leerkamp and Deputy Prosecutor Stephanie Smith weren't returned.
Van Gorp was arrested in June 2006 after he admitted to family and other church members that he had molested the child at his home in February 2006. The Star generally does not name victims of sexual assault.
The child's family left the congregation after church leadership encouraged parishioners to rally around Van Gorp and provided financial assistance to Van Gorp and his wife, Barb, who works at College Park as a receptionist.
Joe Rice, administrative pastor at the church, issued a statement today.
"We continue to pray for the healing of all those who were hurt in this crime, and for the repentance of Mr. Van Gorp," the statement read. "We are thankful for the efforts of the criminal justice system in adjudicating this offense. We will continue to offer help to the victim and the victim's family.
"We believe our efforts as a church over the past 18 months have helped bring the truth to light. Any abuse of a minor is vile, immoral, sinful and without question a violation of everything College Park Church stands for as a ministry of Jesus Christ."
A pretrial hearing was held Thursday to determine whether the victim, now 4, was competent to testify.
"They made her testify in front of him and describe body parts and everything," the child's father said. "It was a traumatic experience for her, and she's been having nightmares ever since."
After the hearing, Smith and Lorenz renewed negotiations on a plea bargain, which was finalized this morning.
After Van Gorp is released from prison, he will have to register as a sex offender and complete a court-approved sex offender treatment program and will not be allowed to contact his victim, travel alone after 10 p.m. or use a computer with Internet access without permission from his probation officer. Contact: robert.annis@indystar.com
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.