Woman suffers from seizures...in a courtroom!

Linton woman facing a possible prison sentence of more than 30 years on two felony counts - involving sexual misconduct charges - suffered a series of seizures while on the witness stand during the closing moments of her initial hearing in Greene Circuit Court on Tuesday morning.

Paula Giles, 46, was being arraigned on a charge of Aiding in Sexual Misconduct with a Minor - a class B felony - and Neglect of a Dependent - a class D felony - when she was stricken ill.

A Greene County Ambulance Service unit transported Giles to Greene County General Hospital in Linton for emergency room treatment after the incident. She was not admitted, according to a hospital spokesperson.

Despite her illness, the hearing was concluded and a jury trial was set for 9 a.m. on Nov. 14. A pre-trial hearing was scheduled for 8:15 a.m. on Nov. 1. James Reister was appointed her pauper attorney and she initially entered a not guilty plea.

Giles was arrested in connection with a case that was filed by Linton Police Department Det. Troy Jerrell on April 7.

The Linton Police Department received a Crime Stoppers telephone tip on Dec. 13, 2005 alerting them that a 21-year-old adult male was living with his girlfriend, who was approximately 14 years old, and her parents. The caller told police that the daughter and her boyfriend had been sexually active.

Det. Jerrell and Greene County Child Protection caseworker Kathy Lawrence went to the Giles residence on SW 6th Street in Linton and talked about the case.

The mother told police that her teen daughter was sleeping in the same bed with her 21-year-old boyfriend who lived with them. She also said she had knowledge that the couple was being “intimate or sexually active together,” and said she had her daughter on birth control pills, Jerrell wrote in his probable cause affidavit.

Her boyfriend also told police that he and his girlfriend had been sexually active for the past several months, according to court records.

Jerrell also wrote in his probable cause affidavit, “This officer believes Mrs. Giles knowingly permitted a felony to take place in her household. In doing so, she had deprived her daughter of proper parental support and endangered her physical well being by possibly placing her at risk of sexual transmitted diseases at a young age.”

Conviction of a class B felony carries a possible prison sentence ranging between six and 28 years, while a conviction of a class D felony has a sentence between six months and three years, if found guilty. Both charges carry a fine of up to $10,000 each.

The affidavit for probable cause was approved by Circuit Judge David Johnson on April 11.
Giles was originally scheduled to appear for her initial hearing on May 4, but failed to show. The hearing was rescheduled for Tuesday.