A former deputy with the Brown County Sheriff’s Department convicted by a jury last month of two felony battery charges was sentenced Thursday afternoon in Adams County Circuit Court.
31-year old Cody R. Shaffer of Lorraine e was found guilty of Class 2 felony aggravated domestic battery by strangulation and Class 3 felony aggravated battery of a pregnant person. However, the jury found Shaffer was not guilty of Class X felony armed violence on May 7th.
Shaffer and his attorney, Drew Schnack, appeared before Judge Mark Vincent in Adams County Circuit Court on Thursday for sentencing.
Muddy River News reports that Schaffer’s former fiancee Brittany Abercrombie, who was 36 weeks pregnant when Shaffer committed his crimes in their home in January 2023, said in her victim impact statement that Shaffer has lived for the past year at his home “without any remorse, consequences or any punishment.”
Assistant State’s Attorney Laura Keck noted in her argument that Shaffer was determined not to be a good candidate for probation because experts determined he doesn’t have a substance abuse problem, and Shaffer won’t accept responsibility or accountability for his actions or take probation services.
Shaffer, in his statement of allocution, said he regretted everything that happened the night of the attack, which was recorded on Abercrombie’s phone and presented as evidence at trial. He also said that if he were to go to prison, he would be unable to support his children. Shaffer’s attorney Drew Schnack went a step further, saying that Shaffer had no prior history of domestic violence calling his record “squeaky clean” and noted that Abercrombie had not sought any help for any past history of alleged abuse.
Judge Vincent also disagreed with Abercrombie’s statements saying that Shaffer had been under severe restrictions with ankle monitoring since his arrest. Vincent believed Shaffer’s conduct “luckily” did not result in “serious harm.” Vincent also noted Shaffer had no prior criminal history.
Shaffer was sentenced to 2 years of adult probation. He was given credit for 517 days served and was ordered to undergo an individual domestic violence evaluation, which the Adams County Probation Department will monitor.