Judge denies prosecutor's request in Anderson neglect case

ANDERSON, Ind. (AP) - A judge is standing by his decision to reject the guilty pleas of a central Indiana man accused of neglecting his malnourished, disabled, teenage granddaughter.

Madison Circuit Judge Mark Dudley threw out the man's plea agreement this week because the man denied having battered the girl. Dudley set a trial to begin Nov. 17.

Dudley denied a request by the Madison County Prosecutor's Office to reconsider his decision to reject the guilty pleas.

Dudley said accepting the agreement would risk having the court decision reversed because the man has denied he is guilty.

"A reversal does not serve the interests of the State, the defense or most importantly the victims who are waiting for a final and definite resolution."

The Anderson man had pleaded guilty last month to 12 felony counts of neglect of the girl, as well as battery and criminal confinement. The Herald Bulletin reported (http://bit.ly/1RMMB84 ) he is accused, along with his wife and daughter, of locking the physically and mentally disabled teenager, then 15, in a room and depriving her of medical care.

The girl was found weighing less than 40 pounds inside the home she shared with her grandparents last December. She's now in foster care. Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings said in August that the girl's weight had increased to approximately 100 pounds and she was attending a special needs class.

Dudley on Monday sentenced the man's wife to 24 years in prison after she pleaded guilty last month to six counts of neglect, three counts of criminal confinement and one count of battery resulting in bodily injury.

The Anderson woman apologized in court, saying her husband "would not let her care for" the girl.

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Information from: The Herald Bulletin, http://www.theheraldbulletin.com