LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A southern Indiana judge is considering a bond reduction request for a 15-year-old boy charged with raping a 7-year-old special needs student multiple times on a school bus in southern Indiana. 

The hearing was held Thursday morning in circuit court in Jennings County after Landon Doty's lawyer filed a motion to reduce his current bond, which was set at $250,000 surety or $25,000 cash.

Doty, who lives in North Vernon, is charged as an adult for allegedly sexually assaulting and raping a nonverbal child with autism multiple times. According to court documents, it happened on a Jennings County school bus over the course of several weeks before a bus monitor noticed something was wrong on the morning of April 17, according to court documents. 

The monitor saw Doty pushing the 7-year-old off his lap. He then had the driver stop the bus and confronted Doty. The two were separated and the monitor requested a review of the school bus surveillance video. 

A long-time court officer is quoted in the Probable Cause Affidavit as saying Doty's alleged actions are considered so heinous that he is beyond rehabilitation under the juvenile justice system. That officer described Doty "as a predator" who knew what he was doing was wrong, according to previous WDRB reporting. 

As Doty was being taken into custody, he stated "I'm basically screwed." 

The 7-year-old's family said he was left with permanent injuries. A civil suit has been filed by the family's attorneys and alleges that Jennings County School Corporation acted with gross negligence, violated the child's civil rights and caused permanent harm, as reported by Fox59.

Doty is facing numerous charges including: 

  • Two counts of rape
  • Two counts of attempted rape
  • Child molesting
  • Attempted child molesting
  • Two counts of sexual battery
  • Two counts of attempted sexual battery
  • Criminal confinement
  • Public indecency

During Thursday's hearing, Bradley Kage, Doty's attorney, said Doty should be allowed to go home with his grandparents so he can undergo counseling and continue his classes online. 

"He would need to be able to further his education online, and can do that by returning home, and he would need to seek some sort of counseling," Kage said. 

Jennings County Prosecutor Brian Belding asked the judge to consider the seriousness of the allegations against Doty and the possibility that he could be a flight risk and a danger to the community or himself. 

"If Mr. Doty is convicted of those allegations, he's facing significant jail time, which should be taken into account as to risk of flight, but also safety to the community and himself," Belding said. 

The judge did not immediately issue a ruling on the bond reduction request, but said she is taking it under advisement. 

Doty is due back in court on Aug. 15 for a change of venue hearing, and his initial pretrial conference is scheduled for Aug. 21. 

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