Indiana Law on Statutory Rape

Indiana does not have a specific statute for statutory rape, as many other states do, but it is a criminal offense for an adult to have any type of sexual interaction with a minor or a juvenile. In states with specific statutory rape laws, the aim is typically to protect juveniles from sexual interactions with adults when they do not yet have the capacity to consent to sexual intercourse or other types of sexual conduct. Rather than defining this as “statutory rape” in Indiana, the Indiana Code identifies the offense of “sexual misconduct with a minor.” This offense under IC 35-42-4-9 is a Level 5 felony at a minimum and may be charged from a Level 4 up to a Level 1 felony (the most serious) depending on the circumstances. Our Indianapolis sex crimes defense attorneys can explain in more detail.

Age and Statutory Rape (or Sexual Misconduct with a Minor)

 Under IC 35-42-4-9, a person can face Level 5 felony charges for sexual misconduct with a minor if they are at least 18 years old and knowingly or intentionally engage in sexual intercourse or other sexual conduct with a child under the age of 16 years old. In other words, the age of consent in Indiana is 16 years old.

When the person charged is at least 21 years old and the minor is under the age of consent (i.e., under the age of 16), then the offense is charged as a Level 4 felony. The level of the felony charged becomes more serious when there are aggravating circumstances, such as the use of deadly force or a deadly weapon.

With all charges under this section of the Indiana Code, the offense in most circumstances is a strict liability offense — it does not matter if the juvenile verbally gave what seemed to be consent. If the person charged and the alleged victim are of the ages identified in the statute and the adult intentionally or knowingly engaged in sexual conduct, then they are guilty of the offense.

Defenses to Statutory Rape (or Sexual Misconduct with a Minor) 

There are multiple statutory defenses that may be relevant to your case, including the following:

• You reasonably believed the juvenile was at least 16 years old (if there are no other aggravating factors);
• Juvenile is or has previously been married (if there are no other aggravating factors); or
• You are not more than four years older than the juvenile, you have maintained an ongoing personal relationship (other than a family relationship), you are not yet 21 years old, there was no use of deadly force or a deadly weapon, no serious bodily injury occurred, no controlled substances were furnished to the juvenile, you are not (and were not) in a position of authority or influence over the juvenile, you have no other sex offenses on record, and you were not promoting prostitution.

Contact Our Indianapolis Sex Crimes Defense Lawyers Today 

It is critical to know that, even if the charges you are facing are for what other states define as “statutory rape” and there are relatively few years of age between yourself and the alleged victim, a conviction will nonetheless result in a sex offense conviction on your record that will often require registration on the sex offender registry in addition to other penalties that can include a term of incarceration. As such, anyone who is facing charges for a sex offense in the Indianapolis area should seek legal advice from one of the experienced Indianapolis sex crime defense attorneys at Rigney Law LLC as soon as possible. Do not hesitate to reach out to our firm to find out about defending against these charges. Contact Rigney Law LLC today to get started on your defense.

Source: 

law.justia.com/codes/indiana/title-35/article-42/chapter-4/section-35-42-4-9/