Last Friday afternoon, June 23, 2023, Joshua Govea of Jasper appeared in court to be sentenced
by Dubois Circuit Court Judge Nathan Verkamp. On May 25, 2023, Govea was found guilty by
a jury of his peers of both Child Molesting, a Level 1 felony, and Public Voyeurism, a Class A
misdemeanor.
At last week’s sentencing hearing, following arguments from both Brian Lucchi with the Dubois
County Prosecutor’s Office and Govea’s attorney, Judge Verkamp sentenced Govea to 30 years
at the Indiana Department of Correction for the Child Molesting conviction. The days that
Govea had already spent in the Dubois County Security Center, prior to sentencing, were applied
to his Public Voyeurism conviction. Therefore, Govea left the courtroom last week with no
credit time toward his 30-year prison sentence.
Judge Verkamp also found that Govea is a sexually violent predator who is required to register
for life on the sex offender registry. Furthermore, Govea was ordered to have no contact with
the victim.
Govea had been arrested and charged in May of 2021 after a child disclosed to school personnel
that Govea had touched her inappropriately.
Beth Schroeder, Dubois County Prosecutor, stated that “the Dubois County Prosecutor’s Office
strives to always protect the rights of all members of our community, especially victims, and I
am pleased with the outcome of this case.”
