Ex-Yorktown school nurse, pastor gets 105 years for molesting girls
MUNCIE, Ind. — A former nurse for Yorktown schools was sentenced Wednesday to 105 years in prison for three molesting convictions.
Brian Eugene Couch, 57, had pleaded guilty to the three charges — two Class A felonies and one Level 1 felony — in July.
When he was arrested in August 2019, Couch was a nurse assigned to Yorktown elementary and middle schools. He had also been a pastor for several years at Yorktown Church of the Nazarene.
At Wednesday's sentencing hearing, Delaware Circuit Court 4 Judge John Feick noted Couch appeared to be praying.
According to a release issued by Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman, Feick — who imposed the 105-year prison term — said he hoped the Yorktown man was praying for his victims, but the judge suspected Couch was praying for himself.
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A court document filed at the time of his 2019 arrest said Couch had sexually abused a girl "almost daily" over a period of several years beginning when she was six years old. Those allegations resulted in seven molesting charges.
Last year, the Yorktown man was charged with three more molesting counts, alleging he fondled three girls when they visited his home between 2012 and 2016.
During Wednesday's hearing, one of Couch's victims said he had "made choices that will stick with me for the rest of my life," according to the release.
Deputy Prosecutor Jagen Arnold had recommended a maximum 150-year sentence, calling Couch "the proverbial monster under the bed."
Hoffman said Couch's crimes were "as repulsive as they are heartbreaking," and predicted that given the length of Wednesday's sentence, "the only way he will leave prison will be in a pine box."
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Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Former Yorktown school nurse Brian Couch gets 105 years for sexual abuse
