Ryan Nutter: 30-Year-Old Convicted Of Sexual Assault On Young Girl, But Gets Off Without Any Jail Time

Ryan Nutter pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a young girl under his care, but the 30-year-old won’t see any jail time after a controversial decision by the case’s prosecutor.

The Indiana man pleaded guilty this week to four counts of child molesting as a Level 4 felony, the Greenfield Reporter noted. When it came time for sentencing, however, Nutter was not sent to prison but instead given 12 years on probation. While he will be spending the first four years of that on home detention and must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, Nutter’s light sentence was still met with outrage.

Many commenters noted that Nutter’s case was a very serious one, and that getting off without any jail time appeared to be an injustice to his victim.

And to make the case even more controversial, Ryan Nutter had been accused of the same crime by a different young girl. In July, he went to trial for another molestation case but was ultimately acquitted.

Even the judge who oversaw the case seemed to raise doubts about Ryan Nutter’s light prison sentence, the Greenfield Reporter noted. In reviewing the plea deal set forth by prosecutors, Hancock Circuit Court Judge Richard Culver noted that a man convicted of a nearly identical crime was given a 10-year prison sentence.

Culver even forced Nutter to say on record exactly what he had done, the report added.

Culver halted the public hearing to speak privately in chambers with attorneys for the state and defense; when the parties returned, Culver ordered Nutter to testify in detail about what he had done to the victim, then approved the agreement.

Nutter told a judge through tears during the hearing that he sexually assaulted a young girl who was often left in his care. He testified he touched the girl inappropriately on several occasions and forced the girl to touch him as well.

But prosecutors have stood by their plea deal, saying they were worried that Nutter could be acquitted for a second time and escape without any punishment at all.

“There frankly was some concern about this case if it had gone to trial,” said prosecutor Brent Eaton (via Fox 59).

Eaton also noted that going to trial would mean putting the child on the stand to recount the abuse she suffered at Nutter’s hands.

“Mr. Nutter denied the allegations. He had not confessed. And so really we were going to be in a situation where we have to ask a jury to convict somebody of very serious crimes based upon the word of a child. And that’s something that’s a very difficult thing to do.”

Ryan Nutter’s light sentence had parallels to another controversial case making headlines this month. In Iowa, 19-year-old Kraigen Grooms was convicted of molesting a 1-year-old girl but given only a suspended 10-year prison sentence.

Iowa teen Kraigen Grooms recorded himself raping a 1-year-old baby girl two years ago. Grooms was 16-years-old at… https://t.co/0nM9thmFV1

— Anon Against Abuse (@1AAICAA) September 17, 2016

The story drew outrage on social media, though Wapellow County Attorney Gary Oldenburger later said that Grooms was 16 when the incident occurred and that the teen was actually duped into molesting the young girl by online pornographers who recorded the abuse.

“The abuse was committed at the behest of two men who had, over a long period of time, perfected the technique for duping children into committing sexual acts that they would not have otherwise engaged in,” Oldenburger said (via ABC News). “They were so skillful and so persuasive in their efforts that they successfully convinced hundreds of children to engage in sexual activity while they surreptitiously recorded it.”

The prosecutor added that the victim’s family did not press for jail time, saying instead that they wanted Grooms to get counseling.

Despite the controversy surrounding the light sentence for Ryan Nutter, Prosecutor Brent Easton said his office is happy that the 30-year-old is being held accountable for his crimes.

[Featured Image by Hancock County Sheriff’s Department]