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Indiana Man Who Had Child Drive Sentenced for Neglect

By Nina Settappa

Indiana Man Who Had Child Drive Sentenced for Neglect

June 18, 2010 Updated Oct 28, 2009 at 6:06 AM EST

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - A Lafayette man who police say had his 9-year-old daughter drive him around the neighborhood while he was
drunk has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

A judge sentenced 33-year-old Matthew Chain Dewitt on Tuesday in
Tippecanoe Superior Court after Dewitt pleaded guilty to a felony charge of neglect.

Dewitt was arrested Aug. 1 after someone reported a child was driving a minivan. Police found the child driving and found several empty bottles and cans of alcohol in the vehicle.

Dewitt admitted that he had his daughter drive but denied drinking inside the vehicle. In exchange for Dewitt's guilty plea, prosecutors dropped other charges including criminal recklessness and public intoxication.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)



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