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   From: noreply@mixmin.net   
      
   https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/nwitimes.com/conten   
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   CROWN POINT — A judge accepted a man's plea agreement Wednesday and   
   sentenced him to five years of probation for the gang rape of an intoxicated   
   woman more than seven years ago at a party in Merrillville.   
      
   Ajahn D. Batty, 28, of Gary, told Lake Criminal Court Judge Natalie Bokota he   
   didn't understand, when he confessed to police in 2018, his actions amounted   
   to rape.   
      
   "It took a long time for me to understand that my actions had fallen under the   
   umbrella of rape," he said. "I understand my actions were out of line. I only   
   wish to move forward."   
      
   The woman at the center of the case shared Batty's desire to move forward, and   
   it was because of her position that the state offered a plea agreement that   
   didn't include prison time, Lake County Deputy Prosecutor Nadia Wardrip said.   
      
   "This victim has gone through so much trauma as a result of this," Wardrip   
   said. "She is in a different place in her life."   
      
   Justice for the woman was many years in the making, and Wardrip did not want   
   to retraumatize the woman by forcing her to return to Lake County to testify   
   against Batty and his co-defendants.   
      
   The woman told Merrillville police in September 2014 she was raped by three   
   men at a house party, but charges were not filed until the Lake County   
   prosecutor's office reopened hundreds of cases and directed Region police   
   departments to submit any    
   untested rape kits for DNA analysis.   
      
   Analysis of the woman's rape kit led police to Batty and his co-defendants,   
   Joshua W. Shipp and David G. Werner. All three men were charged in September   
   2018.   
      
   Shipp and Werner have pleaded not guilty, and their cases remain pending.   
      
   Batty admitted he, Shipp and Werner were playing drinking games with the   
   woman, who became too intoxicated to consent to sex.   
      
   The woman told police the game involved her removing clothing when she drank,   
   according to charging documents. She alleged Shipp sexually assaulted her in   
   his room, Werner brought her into his room and sexually assaulted her and   
   Batty then came into    
   Werner's room and raped her.   
      
    Lake County prosecutor's initiative to review glut of untested rape kits   
   leads to charges against three men for 2014 sexual assault   
   Defense attorney Andreas Kyres said Batty was grateful for the plea agreement   
   and understood it's rare for a defendant to receive a sentence for rape that   
   is suspended in favor of probation.   
      
   "I know he's going to do well on probation because he's lived a law-abiding   
   life," Kyres said.   
      
   Bokota said the law is clear that he's guilty if he knew or should have known   
   that his actions amounted to rape.   
      
   It's incomprehensible why Batty would think his actions didn't amount to rape,   
   and what he did was wrong and abhorrent, the judge said.   
      
   "I can only take you at your word," Bokota said. "I hope you're a better man   
   as you stand here today."   
      
   Batty will be required to register as a sex offender for life.   
      
   Bokota granted his request to visit with two underage female relatives during   
   his term of probation.   
      
   https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-courts/man-says-he-did   
   t-understand-sex-when-woman-couldnt-consent-was-rape/article_9a6   
   660a-5585-5778-88e3-7d42facd3efd.html   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)