Man Faces Up To 389 Years In Prison After Child Molestation Conviction

A 40-year-old Elkhart County man was convicted Thursday, April 30, on 11 charges relating to child molestation of three children. The jury made their decision in three hours.

Jose Jesus Macias was found guilty of nine counts of child molestation, one count of dissemination of matter harmful to minors and one count of vicarious sexual gratification.

During the trial, jurors heard testimony from three children who said Macias performed sexual acts on them and made them perform sexual acts on each other between 2008 and 2011. The victims were all 12 years old or younger at the time of the incidents. The victims knew Macias and testified that they didn’t tell anyone about the incidents because Macias told them not to and because they were afraid of him.

The victims mothers, a responding officer from the Goshen Police Department, a forensic interviewer from Child and Family Advocacy Center and a pediatric sexual assault nurse from Fort Wayne also testified in the trial. When Macias took the stand, he told the jurors that three three children were lying about the incidents.

A sentencing hearing was scheduled for May 28. Macias faces up to 389 years in prison for the 11 felony convictions.

He is being held without bond at the Elkhart County Jail.