A Greenwood man convicted of child molesting was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison.
And due to recent changes in state law, he will need to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence, the county prosecutor said.
Jose Colon, 59, was arrested last year after an investigation into a report that he had sexual contact with a female child.
Police conducted an extensive investigation over a period of months, and he was charged with child molesting as the highest-level felony.
Colon pleaded guilty to the child molesting charge and was sentenced to 20 years in prison by Johnson Circuit Judge Mark Loyd. Colon will also have to register as a sex offender once he is released, and will not be allowed to live within 1,000 feet of a school, according to court records.
Colon has since been sent to the New Castle Correctional Facility, and his earliest release date is in 2034, according to the Indiana Department of Correction.
Under recent changes in state law, Colon is required to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence — or 17 years, Johnson County Prosecutor Brad Cooper said.
The state’s sentencing guidelines changed from the past, when offenders would get a day of credit for every day served, meaning they could be out in half of their sentence with good behavior. Now, they are required to serve at least 75 percent of their sentence.
But offenders convicted of certain offenses, including some child molesting offenses, have to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence, Cooper said.
