Lawrenceburg man gets max sentence for attack on friend

(LAWRENCEBURG, Ind.) – A Lawrenceburg man has received the maximum sentence after pleading guilty to attacking a person he has known for decades. 

62-year-old Roger Mollaun had been going out with a woman for just a few weeks when he found out that she had also gone out with his former brother-in-law and close friend of 45 years at one point, according to court records. 

Mollaun left a voicemail to the 69-year-old victim and said he would beat him and that “it would not be good.”

Authorities say Mollaun went to a house and found the victim on his hands and knees working on a television. 

“Mollaun approached him from behind, struck him in the head, pinned him to the floor, and repeatedly punched him in the head, as many as 20 times by Mollaun’s own account, until [the victim] lost consciousness,” prosecutors say. 

Mollaun then kicked or stomped the victim's leg, breaking it above the ankle.

Police say the victim tried to flee and Mollaun threatened to kill him. Prosecutors say Mollaun only left the scene after hearing approaching sirens. 

The victim suffered a subdural hematoma and required two emergency brain surgeries. His injuries were so severe that his doctors and family initially believed he might not survive.

“In recorded jail calls made shortly after the attack, Mollaun bragged about knocking [the victim] unconscious, swelling both of his eyes shut, and repeatedly striking him,” said Prosecutor Lynn Deddens. 

The Court described the harm inflicted upon the victim as coming “as close to a homicide as the law allows without becoming one” and determined that anything less than a substantially enhanced sentence would depreciate the seriousness of the crime.

The judge cited Mollan’s 40-year criminal history, the premeditated nature of the attack and the victim's age while determining a sentence. 

Mollaun was sentenced to the maximum term of 16 years in prison. He has also been ordered to pay $4,100 to the victim and is not allowed to have contact with the victim or the woman. 

“This was a planned, vicious attack on an older victim who was taken completely by surprise and nearly lost his life. Mr. Mollaun had days to walk away. Instead, he searched for the victim, attacked him from behind, continued beating him after he lost consciousness, broke his leg, and then threatened to kill him. His own recorded words afterward showed no remorse, but pride in the damage he had inflicted,” Deddens said.