A two-year old case against a Barry man was mostly dismissed last week in Pike County Circuit Court.
53-year old Mark A. Hivelyof Barry pleaded guilty to battery last Tuesday in Pike County Circuit Court.
Hively was arrested by Pike County Sheriff’s Deputies on a warrant for two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a family member under the age of 18, unlawful restraint, as well as the battery charge in September 2022. Online court records indicate that the alleged incidents took place in July 2016 and August 2017. No information on the incidents or an investigation have been released. Hively was ordered to stay away from the victim in the case for the duration of multiple court hearings.
The court case went through several turns over the last two years. Pike County State’s Attorney Special Investigator Chastity Anderson was involved in the investigation of the incident under previous Pike County State’s Attorney Zachary Boren. Boren was selected to fill a vacancy in the 8th Judicial Circuit as an associate judge in April 2023.
Appellate Prosecutor Crystal Uhe was assigned to the case shortly thereafter and the case was set for trial in October 2023 but was continued through several motions in limine by Defense Attorney Ryan Schnack.
The case continued through jury calls this April until a final continuance on June 28th where the first indication of a negotiated plea deal was in the works.
Per the open plea last Tuesday, Hively was sentenced to 2 years of conditional discharge as well as an undisclosed fine and restitution.
Requests for comment from Appellate Prosecutor Uhe through multiple channels have not been returned as of press time.