Winamac pastor claims video of him kneeling on toddler was altered

Former Winamac Nazarene Church Pastor Martin Burns faces criminal charges of battery on a person less than 14 years of age and battery resulting in bodily injury.

A former Winamac pastor accused of kneeling on the chest of a toddler attending a church daycare is looking to have the surveillance video of the alleged incident removed from his criminal case, with claims that the video was altered. 

According to a probable cause affidavit, a video of a daycare student from the Kingdom Kids Daycare at Winamac Nazarene Church allegedly having his chest kneeled on by the then pastor Martin Burns was circulated around social media in September 2023. The video resulted in Burns facing charges of battery on a person less than 14 years old, a Level 6 felony, and battery resulting in bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor. 

Court documents state that in the video shared online, Burns was allegedly seen kneeling on the toddler's chest for seven seconds as a way to get the child to let go of his leg. During an interview with police, Burns admitted to kneeling on the child, but claimed that he did not bear all his weight on the boy and had used just enough pressure to hold the child down. After finally standing up, the video shows Burns allegedly standing over the child, stating "you listen when you're given instructions," before walking away. 

The child seen in the video did not sustain any major injuries, but did complain of chest pain later that evening and was seen crying on the floor alone while holding his chest. The video also showed what appeared to be two other adults in the room, who did not check on the upset child as he cried alone for nearly 10 minutes after the alleged incident. When later interviewed, the two other daycare employees in the room claimed to have not seen the alleged offense occur. The two employees were separately shown the video by police. Court documents stated that one of the employees began crying and became emotional during the interview after watching the video, calling it "crazy."

Due to the other two employees being in the room and claiming to have not seen the incident occur, defense attorney Jesse Harper is now raising doubt on the legitimacy of the surveillance video. Harper argued that the video being used by Pulaski County prosecutors is a copy that has been altered up to four times. Harper also cited the state's "silent witness" rule, that challenges prosecutors to thoroughly verify the authentication of the video in question. 

Ahead of the Aug. 14 trial for the case, court records show Burns will have a hearing on the argument Thursday, Aug 8.