An Indiana teenager was convicted of raping a nonverbal neurodivergent child.
According to WXIN, 16-year-old Landon Doty was convicted following a two-day jury trial that ended Wednesday.
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According to the report, the suspect was charged as an adult on June 12, 2025, after surveillance video from the school bus purportedly showed many instances of Doty allegedly beating the youngster over the course of several weeks when the suspect was 15 years old. On April 17, 2025, a bus monitor reported seeing Doty push the child from his lap, which alerted officials to his suspected acts. The monitor notified the bus driver, and the students were separated. The incident was reported to the Jennings County Schools.
According to WDRB, Doty claimed that he did not sexually contact the other child, but rather used “calming techniques,” with his attorney maintaining that neither the bus driver nor the monitor witnessed any sexual activities.
A statement filed on June 9, 2025, after Doty was waived to adult court claimed that the youngster was “beyond rehabilitation under the juvenile justice system” and that “it is in the best interest of the safety and welfare of the community” for him to stand trial as an adult, according to the source.
According to the report, an officer said that Doty’s case was the worst he had ever seen in his 39-year career as a juvenile probation officer.
Doty was found guilty of the following offenses, according to WXIN:
- Rape
- Child molesting
- Sexual battery
- Criminal confinement of a victim under four years of age
- Public indecency
A sentencing date had not yet been set as of Thursday morning.
