Kokomo man gets 40 years in molestation case

A Kokomo man who recently pleaded guilty for his role in the 2019 molestation of two children was sentenced to 40 years in the Indiana Department of Correction.

Christopher Keefer, 31, will serve 30 of those years in prison, with 10 years suspended to supervised probation, according to an online sentencing order, after pleading guilty to two Level 1 felony counts of child molest.

A third charge of resisting law enforcement as a Class A misdemeanor was dismissed, per terms of the agreement.

Along with the sentencing, Keefer is also required to submit to a mental health assessment and be placed on Indiana’s Sex and Violent Offender Registry.

Keefer was first arrested in June 2019 after police were made aware of a Facebook conversation another Kokomo resident had with Keefer, in which he stated that his girlfriend, Sherry Bozeman, 33, and he had been molesting Bozeman’s 3- and 6-year-old sons inside their residence in the 600 block of North McCann Street, according to court records.

His messages in part described various explicit sexual acts performed both in front of and on the two juveniles, a probable cause affidavit stated, while the four were inside the boys’ bedroom of the residence.

During an interview with the Kokomo Police Department, Bozeman stated she had been dating Keefer since March 2015, although they had recently broken off their relationship, court records stated.

She also told police she didn’t remember anything happening at the residence, the affidavit noted, but she did admit that Keefer and she were high on methamphetamine at the time of the alleged incident.

Upon further questioning, Bozeman ended up telling police she had lied during her interview and she did remember the sexual acts Keefer allegedly wrote about in his Facebook messages, court records indicated.

In April 2021, Bozeman was sentenced to 24 years in the IDOC for her part in the investigation, after pleading guilty to a Level 3 felony charge of incest and a Level 4 felony charge of incest.