By Sara Baldwin Schatz
On Oct. 10 at the Boone County Courthouse, Kristoffer Ryan Blattner, co-owner of Village Music in Zionsville, pleaded guilty to child molesting.
Blattner was charged March 22 with felony 4 child molesting, which is a statutory charge defined as “fondling of persons under age 14” for the time period of July 1, 2014 – Jan. 22, 2018. The penalty for this charge is 2-12 years incarceration and a fine of up to $10,000. Due to the 2014 change in Indiana criminal code, he was also charged with a class C felony for the time period of Aug. 27, 2012 – June 30, 2014. The class C has the same definition as felony 4 but a lower maximum penalty of 4 years incarceration.
At the start of the plea hearing, Judge Matthew Kincaid told Blattner he had the right to a trial and would forego it if he pleaded guilty. Blattner voluntarily entered the plea bargain, an agreement that allowed him to skip the trial and go straight to sentencing.
During the Oct. 10 plea bargain, Blattner pleaded guilty to the felony 4 charge but not the class C felony charge. The court took the plea under advisement and a sentencing hearing was set for Nov. 8.
According to the plea agreement, Blattner faces 0 to 4 years in prison and 4 to 6 years probation. During that time, he will be subject to Indiana’s probation conditions for sex offenders.
On July 27, Blattner was present at Village Music, the company he owns with his parents, but declined to discuss the case. He teaches music lessons to children as young as 5. It is unclear whether he has continued to teach private music lessons while the charges were pending.
Blattner’s conviction will put him on the Indiana Sex and Violent Offender Registry as a “sexually violent predator.” His attorney, Allan Reid, asked Kincaid to allow Blattner to still be involved in Village Music as part of the sentencing specifications.
Reid, Blattner’s attorney, had not responded to Current as of press time.
