Suspect in Behrman case pleads guilty in unrelated case

BLOOMINGTON -- A man investigators have said was the leading suspect in the 2000 disappearance of IU student Jill Behrman could soon be out of jail under a plea agreement in an unrelated case.\nUriah J. Clouse, 27, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a reduced charge in a case where he had been accused of sexually assaulting a Bloomington woman in 2001.\nProsecutors dropped a felony rape charge in exchange for Clouse's guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of battery.\nMonroe Circuit Court Judge Marc Kellams sentenced Clouse to one year in jail. Because Clouse received credit for time served while awaiting trial, he is scheduled to be released April 10.\nThe battery charge includes no allegation that sexual contact took place, said Clouse's defense attorney, John Plummer III. Clouse and the woman had been in a relationship at the time of the rape accusation.\nThe relationship and a lack of physical evidence complicated the prosecution's case, Deputy Prosecutor MaryEllen Diekhoff said. The woman did not go to a doctor until a week after the alleged assault.\nClouse has never been charged in the death of the 19-year-old Behrman, who was last seen riding her bicycle alone on May 21, 2000 near Bloomington.\nIndiana State Police Detective Rick Lang said the search team found "significant skeletal remains" during multiple searches between March 9 and 17 near Paragon, Ind., where a hunter and his son originally encountered the remains while searching for game trails in the countryside. Paragon is about 20 miles north of Bloomington.\nThe identification of Behrman's remains has not led investigators to any new theories regarding her disappearance, said Lang. Investigators have said she likely was hit by a pickup truck driven by someone under the influence of alcohol or drugs.\nPlummer said Tuesday that Clouse has been interviewed by investigators about the Behrman case several times and maintains his innocence.\nHe said the fact that Behrman's remains were found about 25 miles north of where detectives had said they suspected Behrman was killed, raised doubt that Clouse was involved in her death.\nIDS Reporter Julia Blanford contributed to this story.