New Albany woman found guilty of child molestation

The Evening News and The Tribune - 4/18/2024

Apr. 18—NEW ALBANY — A New Albany woman has been convicted in Floyd Circuit Court of sexually abusing two children.

Kathryne Tillett was found guilty of two counts of child molestation after a jury trial that lasted for four days starting on Monday and ending on Thursday presided over by Judge Justin Brown.

Floyd County Prosecutor Chris Lane said that cases like these are always hard, but for the prosecutors it's their responsibility to ensure that children in the community are protected. He said the team on the case spent about 100 hours preparing for it.

"I'm thankful for the guilty verdict, and I'm thankful the two victims in this case are safe," he said.

State prosecutors on Thursday interviewed the forensic interviewer that talked to the two children, who were ages 7 and 4 at the time. The interviews themselves were presented to the jury of the children describing the sexual abuse committed by the woman to the best of their ability, which had apparently occurred multiple times.

The oldest child had initially disclosed the abuse to a teacher around January 2022 when the teacher noticed the child's behavior had recently changed, and the proper channels were then alerted of it. Lane commended the teacher and child protective services for stepping in.

Tillett exercised her Fifth Amendment right to not speak during the trial, although she was interviewed during the initial investigation.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Elizabeth Stigdon argued during her final statements that even children are not confused in circumstances like this, especially considering the details that were brought forward by the children in the interviews.

She also argued that Tillett had more of a motive to lie about the crime, while the children had no motive to lie. Tillett also failed a polygraph test that was conducted on her.

The jury reached the verdict after less than an hour of deliberation. Both counts of child molestation are felony 1 charges, punishable by 20 to 40 years. However, due to the fact that both of the victims were under 12 years old, these charges could be punishable for up to 50 years.

Tillett's sentence hearing will be on May 17, and she will wait at the Floyd County Jail in the meantime.

___

Visit The Evening News and The Tribune (Jeffersonville, Ind.) at newsandtribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.