(COLUMBIA CITY) - A Garrett man convicted of battering a child has been sentenced to prison while awaiting trial on additional child molesting charges, according to the KPC News Service/The Star.
John Michael-Ezra Phillips, 31, was sentenced Feb. 9 in Whitley Circuit Court to four years after a jury found him guilty of domestic battery against a person younger than 14 by an adult, a Level 5 felony, The Star reported.
Judge Matthew Rentschler ordered two years of the sentence suspended and credited Phillips with 268 days already served. He remains in the Whitley County Jail.
Phillips is scheduled to face a separate jury trial May 19-22 on multiple child molesting charges stemming from incidents in fall 2024 involving two children. Prosecutors have charged him with two counts of Level 1 felony child molesting and three counts of Level 4 felony child molesting.
Phillips' upcoming trial will also be held in Whitley Circuit Court.