Teen accused of raping 7-year-old on southern Indiana school bus will be tried as an adult

LOUISIVLLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A 15-year-old accused of raping a 7-year-old in southern Indiana is being charged as an adult.

According to court documents, Landon Doty, of North Vernon, is accused of sexually assaulting and raping a non-verbal child with autism. The incident happened on a Jennings County school bus over the course of several weeks. Doty is charged with:

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

School bus video reportedly captured several of the instances. Court documents show a school bus monitor noticed Doty pushing the 7-year-old off his lap April 17 and the bus monitor told officials to review the video.

According to documents, the behavior occurred repeatedly over several weeks. A long-time officer of the court is quoted in the Probable Cause Affidavit, saying the actions are considered so heinous that Doty is beyond rehabilitation under the juvenile justice system, and continues to describe him "as a predator" who knew what he was doing was wrong.

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.

"This nightmare tragedy should never have happened. How could both the bus driver and the additional bus monitor aide not notice anything?" Wagner Rese attorney Laura Swafford in a statement to Fox59. "Like all parents in the community, the boy's family believed the school would protect their young, vulnerable son.

"The family entrusted the school to protect their son by monitoring activity on the bus. The school system breached this trust and clearly failed in its responsibility."

The school district released this statement:

"We cannot go into any detail about this situation because we are cooperating with an active police investigation and additionally are involved in this litigation."

Many parents in the district said it's a scary situation.

“It is scary knowin' that my kids are going to school here, and I don't feel safe put them on the school bus," Angel Elliott, whose children attend the school, said.

Doty is being held in the Jennings County Jail on a $250,000 bond. He is scheduled to be back in court on August 21.

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