150 years in prison

One-hundred and fifty years.

That’s how long an Indiana man was sentenced to prison for molesting his 4-year-old daughter.

Zachary T. Harper, 29, learned his fate during a hearing Tuesday in Jay Circuit Court. He was found guilty by trial in September of three Level 1 felony counts of child molestation, along with being a habitual offender. Harper was sentenced Tuesday to three consecutive 45-year sentences with a 15-year enhancement.

According to details presented in the case, Harper molested his daughter in March and April 2022. The girl was interviewed in September 2022 about the crime, with charges filed in court in March.

Jay County deputy prosecutor Zechariah Landers played a video — a one-minute clip from an interview with the girl — for Judge Brian Hutchison during the Tuesday hearing. As the girl’s answers about the molestation were played, a woman in the crowd put her arm around the girl’s mother, Alexys Abney.

A probable cause affidavit filed in connection with the case includes information from a forensic interview with the girl, who detailed how her father abused her.

Abney, mother of the now 6-year-old girl, testified Tuesday that her daughter has been having nightmares for a year and a half. She said her daughter refuses to sleep in her own room or lay by herself, and when she wakes up from a nightmare, she doesn’t want to be hugged or comforted with physical touch. Abney noted her daughter is going to counseling now.

“It’s been hard,” said Abney. “We’re getting through it. We’re trying.”

Landers pointed to Harper’s criminal history, which includes two felony convictions and a misdemeanor conviction on charges for auto theft, burglary and resisting law enforcement.

He also referenced the trauma Harper has inflicted on his daughter and referenced child molesters in general.

“These are innocent, little children that they’re taking advantage of,” said Landers.

He noted Harper also threatened his daughter to not tell anyone about the crime.

Landers recommended 45-year sentences for each count to be served consecutively as well as a 20-year habitual offender enhancement.

“This is exactly why we have the Department of Correction, for cases like this,” he said.

Harper’s defense attorney, Eric Orr, said he had no mitigating factors to present. Still, he asked for the sentences to be served concurrently, with a 6-year habitual offender enhancement.

Hutchison noted the aggravating factors but said what bothered him most was that Harper’s victim was his own daughter.

The acts he committed, Hutchison said, were “disgusting to me, but I’m sure they were also very painful to her.”

He added that children who have been molested can grow up to have disorders or other issues in their adulthood.

“The damage to her is significant,” he said, noting he didn’t see any mitigating factors in the case.

He adopted the state’s recommendation with the caveat of a 15-year enhancement instead of 20 years. Hutchison walked Harper through the rest of the details, specifically his court fees and rights to petition the court in the future “if you can perform a miracle in prison,” he said.

“I suggest you wait until I’m no longer on the bench, though,” he added.