INDIANA : Rape/Molestation Statutes of Limitation
In the state of Indiana, a person commits rape, a class B felony, if he or she knowingly or intentionally has sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex when:
1. the other person is compelled by force or imminent threat of force;
2. the other person is unaware that the sexual intercourse is occurring; or
3. the other person is so mentally disabled or deficient that consent to sexual intercourse cannot be given;
An act becomes Class A felony if:
1. it is committed by using or threatening the use of deadly force;
2. it is committed while armed with a deadly weapon;
3. it results in serious bodily injury to a person other than a defendant; or
4. the commission of the offense is facilitated by furnishing the victim, without the victim's knowledge, with a drug or a controlled substance or knowing that the victim was furnished with the drug or controlled substance without the victim's knowledge.
A person who, with a child under fourteen (14) years of age, performs or submits to sexual intercourse or deviate sexual conduct commits child molesting, a Class B felony. However, the offense is a Class A felony if:
1. it is committed by a person at least twenty-one (21) years of age;
2. it is committed by using or threatening the use of deadly force or while armed with a deadly weapon;
3. it results in serious bodily injury; or
4. the commission of the offense is facilitated by furnishing the victim, without the victim's knowledge, with a drug or a controlled substance or knowing that the victim was furnished with the drug or controlled substance without the victim's knowledge.
A person who, with a child under fourteen (14) years of age, performs or submits to any fondling or touching, of either the child or the older person, with intent to arouse or to satisfy the sexual desires of either the child or the older person, commits child molesting, a Class C felony. However, the offense is a Class A felony if:
1. it is committed by using or threatening the use of deadly force;
2. it is committed while armed with a deadly weapon; or
3. the commission of the offense is facilitated by furnishing the victim, without the victim's knowledge, with a drug or a controlled substance or knowing that the victim was furnished with the drug or controlled substance without the victim's knowledge.
There is no statute of limitations in Indiana for the prosecution of a Class A felony.
Bob rapes Jane and she is seriously injured. There is no limit of time within which Jane must seek charges against Bob for his actions.
The statute of limitations in Indiana for the prosecution of Class B, C, or D felonies is within five (5) years of the commission of the act.
Bob, not yet 21 years old, molests Jane when she's 13. As a resident of Indiana, Jane has five (5) years to report Bob's actions.
There is a DNA exception in Indiana, whereby if the time limit on a case has expired but DNA evidence has been found to implicate the offender's involvement, there is one (1) year in which charges can be brought against the offender.
Bob, not yet 21 years old, molests Jane when she's 13. As a resident of Indiana, Jane has five (5) years to report Bob's actions. She does not report the incident within that time. Two years after the limit has passed, DNA evidence is found, implicating Bob as her molester. Jane now has a year within the discovery of that evidence to seek charges against Bob.
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