shawn.mcgrath@heraldbulletin.com

Tark A.R. Wendling will spend at least three years in prison for performing a sex act on a then-17-year-old girl after slipping drugs into her drink.

Wendling, 27, Anderson, pleaded guilty in Madison Circuit Court on Monday to criminal deviate conduct, a Class B felony. As a result of the agreement with the Madison County Prosecutor’s Office, he’ll get a 10-year sentence, with four years suspended. Indiana inmates receive a day of credit for every day served, meaning Wendling could be released in three years.

The agreement calls for dismissal of a Class B felony count of rape and of an unrelated, misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana. A Class B felony carries a term of six to 20 years behind bars. Wendling is scheduled to be sentenced by Madison Circuit Court Judge Fredrick Spencer at 1:30 p.m. Monday, April 16.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Wendling and the victim were drinking vodka and orange punch at her home on Aug. 10, when he slipped drugs into her drink. The teen felt dizzy and tired and went to a bedroom and fell asleep.

Wendling fondled her while she slept. She couldn’t remember much of what happened, but suspected there had been some type of sexual activity. Blood tests later revealed she had derivatives of Valium and the sleep-aid Restoril in her system, according to the affidavit.

Wendling admitted to investigators that he had fondled the teen, but said she was aware of what was happening. He denied raping the youth, however, according to court papers.

Madison County Deputy Prosecutor Patrick Ragains also said the girl denied having sex with Wendling. That likely led to the rape charge being dropped, but declined comment following the hearing.

“She did tell me that no intercourse occurred,” Ragains said during the plea hearing. Wendling’s public defender, Angela Warner Sims, declined comment.

Wendling’s sentence will be served after he’s completed his term at Plainfield Correctional Facility on two counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and a single count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Those sentences should end in March 2008.