A man got four years probation Friday for assaulting his girlfriend’s underage daughter in a hotel room.
Karl Harden, 46, of East Chicago, pleaded guilty in August to battery resulting in bodily injury to a disabled person, a Level 5 felony.
He admitted in court documents he “forcibly” grabbed the “mentally disabled” girl’s head, neck and groin in a hotel on the 200 block of Louisiana Street in Merrillville.
Harden was originally charged with two counts of rape, and one count each of criminal confinement and sexual battery.
The charging affidavit states the girl told police that her mother messaged her the day before to meet her. As the girl went to get a drink at a gas station before school, her mom waved her over and told her she didn’t need to go to school that day.
Harden was sitting in the backseat. They drove to a Merrillville Economy Inn, where the woman paid for a room and left her daughter and Harden alone.
He forced the victim to participate in sex acts twice.
Afterward, the girl told her mother, who said she would talk to Harden, and told her not to tell anyone, according to the affidavit.
The girl was left “confused,” “frustrated” and “angry” and didn’t want to believe her mom had been “setting her up,” records state.
Deputy Prosecutor Arturo Balcazar and defense lawyer Matt Fech were assigned. The case was before Judge Natalie Bokota.
mcolias@post-trib.com
