Jury convicts Goshen man of 3 child molesting crimes
GOSHEN — A Goshen man faces decades in prison after he was convicted of three charges of child molesting as a high-level felony.
Zachary Pontius, 39, was convicted Thursday of three counts of child molesting as a Level 1 felony. A jury reached its verdict on the third day of trial in Elkhart County Superior Court 3.
Special Judge Michael Reed set sentencing for Nov. 20. A Level 1 felony carries a punishment of up to 40 years.
Pontius was arrested in February 2021 on a warrant issued days earlier. It was issued after a detective with the Elkhart County Sheriff's Office investigated claims made by a girl who was under 13 at the time of the incidents, which occurred in 2019.
During an interview, the girl described three incidents involving Pontius that she indicated happened at his home in the fall of 2019. She made a similar disclosure to nurses when she was later given a sexual assault examination at a hospital.
The detective also interviewed the girl's mother, who recalled learning about the incidents after picking her daughter up sometime in May 2020. She said the girl hugged her and told her she wanted to go home, and later disclosed what Pontius had done.
