Former Lake County Correctional Officer Sentenced For Official Misconduct
Crown Point- John R. Hoch, 57, was sentenced in Lake Superior Court, Criminal Division 1, on November 7, 2025, after pleading guilty to a felony count of official misconduct stemming from providing cell phones to inmates while working as a correctional officer at the Lake County Jail, according to court records.
According to a stipulated plea agreement and factual basis filed the morning of sentencing, Hoch was originally charged with Trafficking with an Inmate (Level 5 Felony) and Official Misconduct (Level 6 Felony). As part of the plea, Hoch admitted to Count II, Official Misconduct, and the State agreed to dismiss the trafficking charge at sentencing.
The stipulated factual basis states that between January 27, 2024, and May 29, 2024, in Lake County, “John R. Hoch, a public servant, did knowingly or intentionally commit the offense of trafficking with an inmate while in the performance of his official duties as a correctional officer in the Lake County Jail, and against the peace and dignity of the State of Indiana.”
Court filings further state that during that time Hoch was employed at the Lake County Jail and gave cell phone to inmates while on duty, knowing he was not permitted to do so under his job duties as a correctional officer.
Judge Salvador Vasquez accepted the plea and sentenced Hoch to one (1) year in the Lake County Jail, suspended to one (1) year of probation, in accordance with the plea agreement. Hoch was ordered to pay probation user’s fees and court costs and received credit for one day previously spent in confinement, plus one day of good time credit, for a total of two days credit.
As a condition of probation, Hoch was granted permission to travel to Florida for work, limited to seven days per trip, with prior notice to the Lake County Probation Department. The court noted that if Hoch successfully completes probation, he may petition the court to have the conviction entered as a Class A misdemeanor.
Following sentencing, the State’s trafficking-with-an-inmate charge was formally dismissed, and a previously scheduled jury trial date of November 10, 2025, was vacated.
