Muncie sex offender convicted of battering child
MUNCIE, Ind. — A Delaware Circuit Court 3 jury on Tuesday found a Muncie man guilty of battering a 5-year-old boy.
Dana Lee Love, 58, was found guilty of battery resulting in bodily injury to a child less than 14 years old, a Level 5 felony carrying up to six years in prison, and strangulation, a Level 6 felony with a maximum 30-month sentence.
City police said Love attacked the child while visiting the home of the boy's grandmother in October 2017.
The child told his mother after he struck Love twice in the stomach as they engaged in horseplay, the Muncie man “put his hands around his neck, preventing him from breathing,” city police investigator Kristofer Swanson wrote in a report.
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The child — who said he could only talk “in a tiny voice” while being strangled — was taken to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital and later transferred to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.
Swanson wrote the child had bruising "from the front of his neck all the way around to the back of his neck," and broken blood vessels in and around his eyes and on his neck.
Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman said the guilty verdicts were returned after about three hours of deliberations.
Deputy Prosecutor Andrew Ramirez presented the state's case against Love.
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Delaware Circuit Court 3 Judge Linda Ralu Wolf ordered Love to be held in the county jail while he awaits sentencing on Dec. 15.
In 2009, Love was accused of showing a 10-year-old girl Internet pornography and sex toys. He later pleaded guilty to dissemination of matter harmful to minors,
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie man found guilty of battering, choking 5-year-old boy
