Former Klondike Elementary tutor sentenced for molesting student

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Jennifer Holmgren will serve at least 35 years of a 42-year prison sentence before she's eligible for release for molesting a student whom she tutored.

The boy was 10 when Holmgren, 42, began molesting the boy, and he was 14 by the time her sexual assaults came to light in November 2019.

"Miss Holmgren was in a position of trust with this family and this young boy," Tippecanoe Superior 2 Judge Steve Meyer said before pronouncing sentence. "You worked your way into that family.

"You took advantage of that," Meyer said. "You abused that relationship with this family and began sexually assaulting that young boy."

Holmgren was a teacher's aide at Klondike Elementary School when she met the fourth-grade boy whom she molested. She tutored him and his sister, and began running errands for the immigrant family who spoke little English.

Before the boy was out of fourth grade, she was performing oral sex on him, according to testimony during her May trial.

"You did threaten that young child that if he told his parents or friends that bad things would happen to him and his family," Meyer said, recounting the evidence from trial. "You were doing some dangerous head games with this kid."

Meyer found that Holmgren should receive restricted credits for good time served in prison. Instead of serving 75 percent of the sentence, she will serve roughly 85 percent of the sentence because of the age of the victim.

Meyer ordered Holmgren to prison for 40 years for a Level 1 child molesting conviction and seven years for a Level 4 child molesting conviction. For the conviction of inappropriate communication with a child, Holmgren received a one-year sentence, which will run concurrently with the other sentences.

Meyer ordered Holmgren to serve 42 years in an Indiana prison and suspended five years.

When she's released from prison, Holmgren will be in her late 70s. She will have to serve five years on supervised probation and will register as a sex offender for the rest of her life after her release.

Three of Holmgren's supporters testified Monday before the sentencing, telling the court what a caring and generous person she was. None of Holmgren's supporters believed she was guilty of molesting the boy, despite evidence presented during trial that she had a sexual relationship with the boy.

"She's a very religious person; a person of deep faith," said Eleanor Pershing, a family friend. "She's a very compassionate person. She reaches out to help other people."

Pershing said she believed Holmgren would not harm anyone, "especially a child."

"She's completely innocent," Pershing testified, offering her opinion on Holmgren's convictions.

Ronald Howell, Holmgren's neighbor at Pheasant Run Apartments, watched Holmgren's trial the last week of May. He heard the testimony, yet still believes Holmgren is not guilty.

Tippecanoe County Deputy Prosecutor Jackie Starbuck asked Howell about his opinion, even going so far as to read Holmgren's own email to the victim, in which she wrote, "I don't care that you're still growing. I find you damn sexy."

Howell didn't believe Holmgren wrote those words.

John Holmgren, Jennifer Holmgren's father, testified, "I've always known her to be caring and wanting to do things (to help)."

Meyer noted that the 35-year prison sentence Jennifer Holmgren received will help distance her victim from the assaults and possibly help the boy heal.

Jurors could not reach a verdict in two charges — Level 1 felony child molesting and Level 2 felony child seduction. Prosecutors dismissed those charges Monday rather than have another trial.

Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: West Lafayette tutor sentenced for molesting student in 4th grade