By SYDNEY KENT
The first woman caught in a string of online predator stings last year was sentenced in the Wells Circuit Court last week.
Jill Sweeney, 46, from Elise, Michigan, was sentenced to six years in prison with three years of that time suspended. Sweeney also received 193 days of jail credit for the time she spent incarcerated while waiting for disposition in the case.
Sweeney was convicted of one count of child solicitation, a Level 4 felony, and is now required to register as a sex offender.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Sweeney drove the nearly three-hour trip from Michigan to meet with a child she met through the social media app TikTok. The child claimed to be 13 years old. Repeated sexual advances from Sweeney were identified in the messages.
When Sweeney arrived at the Bluffton Walmart last September, she was met by a decoy from the nonprofit group Predator Catchers Indianapolis. Sweeney is one of nine arrests the group has facilitated in the county in recent years.
The sentence imposed for Sweeney is similar to that of fellow offenders.
Unlike fellow offenders, Sweeney was offered the opportunity for a shorter sentence upon completion of the Indiana Sex Offender Management and Monitoring Program in prison.
“I want to apologize for my actions and the choices that have brought me here,” Sweeney told the court. “I plan on, as soon as I’m released, finding resources to find why this happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again. It’s just not in my nature. I truly apologize for my actions.”
As part of her sentence, Sweeney was ordered to complete a period of probation for three years. However, should she complete an approved sexual maladaptive treatment program or the SOMM program, she may petition the court to terminate probation after two years.
Sweeney is also required to pay a sexual assault victim assistance fee, child abuse prevention fee, and additional court costs and filing fees in the amount of $1,039.
sydney@news-banner.com
