Former police officer sentenced to 4 years in prison

Sunday, May 13, 2007

BRISTOL, Ind. (AP) - A former northern Indiana town police officer has been sentenced to four years in prison and two years probation after pleading guilty to child molesting.

Ronald Biller, 45, in April admitted in his plea agreement to touching the breast of a 12-year-old girl in March 2004. Biller told Elkhart Superior Court Judge George Biddlecome he wished he could go back in time and ‘‘erase the mistakes that I've made.''

‘‘He's lost everything by his actions,'' said Chris Crawford, Biller's attorney.

He said Biller lost his job, his standing in the community and his wife and their children.

The victim, now 15, and one of her family members talked about the impact on two families and on the entire community, but both said they want to see Biller get help.

During this week's sentencing, Biddlecome pointed to the impact of the crime.

‘‘I will never understand how a person can destroy the lives of so many people around them in exchange for the fleeting pleasure of this sort of illicit sexual contact,'' he said. ‘‘The harm that he did to that child is incalculable.''

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