Indiana Rape and Sexual Assault Laws

Indiana rape laws include all non-consensual sexual contact. Non-consensual contact may include sexual intercourse, dissemination of pornographic material, or recording a person’s acts without their knowledge if the perpetrator is a sex offender.

Criminal charges and penalties vary based on the age of the victim, the age of the offender, and aggravating factors in the perpetration of the crime. Using a deadly weapon or lowering the victim’s ability to resist with alcohol or a controlled substance increases the penalties of a rape charge.

Rape and Sexual Misconduct

In Indiana, the definition of rape (Indiana Code § 35-42-4-1) is knowing and intentional sexual intercourse:

• With a person compelled by force or imminent threat of force
• Without the victim’s knowledge that sexual intercourse is taking place
• Against the victim’s physical, verbal, or other attempts to refuse
• With a victim mentally disabled or otherwise unable to legally give consent

Rape is a level 3 felony punishable by 3-16 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000. The offense becomes a level 1 felony punishable by 20-40 years imprisonment if the offender:

• Uses or threatens deadly force
• Is armed with a deadly weapon
• The crime results in serious bodily injury
• Uses a drug or controlled substance to accomplish the offense

Indiana abolished its marital rape exception in 1989 so non-consensual sex with one’s spouse is now rape.

Sexual misconduct with a child (Indiana code § 35-42-4-9) has similar elements and penalties. The age of consent in Indiana is 16 years of age. The crime becomes more serious if the offender is over 21, and if the offender used deadly force or weapons.

Indiana’s “Romeo and Juliet” law offers a defense against prosecution for this offense, only when:

• The offender is not over 21
• The offender is not more than four years older than the victim
• The offender and victim were in a dating or “ongoing personal relationship”
• The offense did not involve any aggravating factors
• The offense was not committed by a person with authority or influence over the victim
• The offender was not a registered sex offender
• The crime did not involve the promotion of prostitution

The “Romeo and Juliet” exception applies to high school couples in dating relationships where one partner has graduated and the other is still below the legal age of consent. An 18-year-old recent graduate may continue dating his 15-year-old girlfriend without fear of a statutory rape charge thanks to this carve-out in the law.

Sexual Contact With A Minor

Child molestation (Indiana Code § 35-42-4-3) is any sexual contact with a child under 14, or in the presence of a child under 14 with the intent of gratifying the offender’s sexual desires. Child molestation is a level 3 felony unless any of these factors exist:

• The offender is over 21
• The offender threatened or used deadly force, or the offender used a deadly weapon
• The offense results in a serious bodily injury
• The offender gives the victim drugs or a controlled substance to facilitate the act
• The offender has a sexually transmitted disease and transmits it to the victim

Other Sex Crimes

Sexual battery (Indiana Code § 35-42-4-8) is any contact with the person’s genitals, buttocks, or female breasts if the victim is unaware of the contact. Sexual battery may also happen during rape or child molestation.

Unlawful employment by a sexual predator (§ 35-42-4-10) and sex offender residency offenses (§ 35-42-4-11) are crimes committed by registered sex offenders who knowingly and intentionally take employment in schools or other prohibited locations, or who live in proscribed dwellings for more than three days.

Pornography is not illegal in Indiana, but child pornography (§ 35-42-4-4), sadomasochism, and bestiality are unlawful.

Defenses to Sex Charges

The only true defense to a sexual charge is consent. If the victim consented to the act, then there was no crime. Some victims cannot give consent to any act.

• Children under 16 cannot consent to sexual conduct. An offender can try to claim they reasonably believed the victim was at least 16 at the time of the offense. Offenders may not use this defense if there are any aggravating factors to the crime.
• Those with developmental disabilities and some physical disabilities cannot give legal consent.
• Consent is not presumed if the offender gave the victim drugs or controlled substances without their knowledge, or if another person gave the victim such substances and the offender was aware of it

Research the Law

• Indiana Law
• Indiana Code

Indiana Sexual Assault Laws: Related Resources

• The Sex Offender Registry: What You Need to Know
• Indiana Protection Order Laws
• Indiana Domestic Violence Laws
• Indiana Child Pornography Laws

Get Legal Advice from an Indiana Criminal Defense Attorney

Indiana state laws on rape and sexual assault provide serious penalties for these crimes. Anyone facing sexual assault crimes should request the services of an experienced Indiana criminal defense attorney at once, and say nothing until they have legal representation.