WINCHESTER, Ind. — Court documents reveal that an investigation into murder suspect Larry J. Planck III uncovered a hoard of evidence in relation to an entirely different crime: child molestation and exploitation.
Planck, 25, is currently jailed in Randolph County where he faces one count of murder.
Previous reports detail how police were called out to a Winchester home on Short Street on April 2 where a woman — later identified as Isabel Hernandez — was found laying in the front lawn with a gunshot wound.
Hernandez was reportedly pregnant with Planck’s child, according to court documents. Planck originally told police that she entered his home with a gun which led to him shooting her in the chest. But police said Planck’s story didn’t add up with other witness statements.
Hernandez ended up being pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital in Fort Wayne. Planck was arrested and later charged with murder.
Newly released court documents reveal that while police were searching a hard drive belonging to Planck as part of the murder investigation, detectives found still images and videos of an underage girl engaged in various sexual acts.
In one of the photos, police said the teen was laying naked on what officer’s knew to be Planck’s bed. Court documents reveal that in multiple videos recovered by police Planck can be seen and heard performing sex acts with the child.
In one video, Planck even mentions the girl’s age. In another, he brags about molesting her, according to the documents.
A further search of Planck’s phone found a collection of Google searches which included “What is a child molester,” “How to get emancipated in Indiana,” “child trafficking” and a search for age of consent.
As police searched further into Planck’s history, detectives spoke to another victim who told officers that Planck had molested her when she was 13 and 14 years old. The victim said she once awoke to Planck sitting on the edge of her bed where he reached out and began touching her.
In another reported incident, Planck was driving the victim back to her house and is accused of touching her inappropriately and asking for sexual favors, according to the documents.
Planck also obtained the victim’s cellphone number and is accused of offering to pay the young teen $1,000 to have sex with him. He also reportedly offered her money for nude photographs. The victim told police she repeatedly turned down Planck’s offers.
In addition to his murder charge, which carries a 45 to 65-year sentence if convicted, Planck now faces 24 new counts including possession of child porn, child exploitation and promotion of child sex trafficking. He also is charged with multiple counts of child molesting and child solicitation.
