Indiana lawsuit over torn scrotum unresolved

MUNCIE – The related criminal case is over, but a lawsuit over a then-Muncie woman's attack on her ex-boyfriend's scrotum is still pending.

The victim of the March 2012 assault filed the Delaware Circuit Court 2 lawsuit against Christina Reber seven months after he was attacked in his westside Muncie home.

Reber, now 44 and of Marion, last August was convicted of battery resulting in serious bodily injury. On Feb. 9, she was sentenced by Delaware Circuit Court 1 Judge Marianne Vorhees to two years in prison.

Testimony at a June 2014 trial indicated the man's scrotum injuries required stitches the night of the attack and later reconstructive surgery.

In February 2014, attorney Bruce Munson, who represents the victim, and Reber's lawyers in the civil case — John Brooke and Leslie Mathewson — agreed to put the lawsuit on hold until the criminal case was resolved.

Circuit Court 2 Judge Kimberly Dowling last week scheduled a March 27 hearing with attorneys to discuss the status of the case.

"I have not heard anything to the contrary," Munson said Friday when asked whether his client intended to proceed with the suit.

Munson also said he was uncertain whether any appeal pursued by Reber could further delay action in the civil case.

However, Reber — now incarcerated at the Rockville Correctional Facility in western Indiana — apparently told Circuit Court 1 officials she did not intend to file an appeal.

The suit seeks compensation for the victim's "suffering, mental anguish and emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life."

In a later filing, Munson reported he had been told by one of Reber's attorneys that "he had been approached by a national television network in connection with his client's story."

Munson asked that Reber be ordered to comply with Indiana's "Son of Sam" law, designed to "prevent criminals from profiting from the broadcast or publication of the stories of their crimes."

A settlement was later reached calling for Reber to "deposit any income or other proceeds related either directly or indirectly with the proceedings" with the county clerk's office.

Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. You can also follow him on Twitter @DouglasWalkerSP.