Indianapolis man sentenced to 35 years for sexually exploiting child
An Indianapolis man will serve 35 years in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release after pleading guilty to the sexual exploitation of a child.
Child Abuse
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Innovation Initiative’s Family Law Taskforce submits recommendations to Supreme Court
With an ultimate goal of improving access to justice in family law cases, the Family Law Taskforce of the Indiana Supreme Court’s Innovation Initiative nailed down more than a dozen recommendations, with five being considered “essential for reform.” Now, that final report is headed to the Indiana justices.
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CHINS filings stabilize after surge in recent years
Filings for child in need of services and termination of parental rights cases have swung in opposite directions in the past few years, according to statistics released recently by the Indiana Supreme Court.
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Lawsuit claims DCS failing to protect children and inflicting further harm
Children going into the state’s child welfare system end up more broken, attorneys suing the Department of Child Services say, because they are not being provided with therapy and treatment to help them heal. Rather, the lawyers contend, DCS is just finding beds to stick the kids in and forgetting about their other needs.
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Articles
Indiana man sentenced to 30 years in prison for child pornography-related conviction
An Indiana man faces 30 years in prison after being convicted in federal court of the sexual exploitation of children.
Health care provider doesn’t retain immunity from med-mal suit for causing abuse report, COA rules in reversal
An amendment to the child abuse reporting statute represents a policy determination that a provider who hasn’t acted with gross negligence or willful misconduct doesn’t retain immunity from a medical malpractice action for causing a report of child abuse.
Bill clarifying limits on child sex abuse victim depositions clears IN Senate committee
Continuing a conversation that began in 2020, an Indiana Senate committee has endorsed a bill that would further clarify the restriction on depositions of alleged child sex abuse victims.
Report: Indiana had 60 child neglect or abuse deaths in 2021
Sixty Indiana children died from neglect or abuse in 2021, the state Department of Child Services said in a report issued Friday.
COA finds Indiana Evidence Rule 703 allows nurse’s testimony in child abuse case
A Marion County man convicted of abusing his infant son failed to get a nurse’s testimony thrown out as hearsay.
Boy found dead in April identified, mother 1 of 2 suspects
A boy found dead inside a suitcase last spring in rural southern Indiana has been identified as a 5-year-old from Georgia, and police said Wednesday that the child’s mother and another woman are suspects in his death.
Indiana man gets 65-year sentence for son’s murder, abuse
An Indiana man has been sentenced to 65 years in prison for abusing his 12-year-old son and starving the boy to death.
Fort Wayne man admits reduced charge in boy’s beating death
A Fort Wayne man pleaded guilty Monday to a reduced charge in the death of his girlfriend’s toddler son, who authorities said was battered so badly it ripped his heart in half.
COA awards city of Carmel attorney fees in dispute over mayor’s emails
A lengthy legal dispute over obtaining emails from Carmel’s mayor stemming from a local summer camp incident has led to the city winning attorney fees twice.
Lafayette woman gets 55 years in 3-year-old’s beating death
A northwestern Indiana woman convicted of murder in the beating death of her 3-year-old son was sentenced Tuesday to 55 years in prison.
COA rules for DCS in negligence complaint after dad wasn’t notified of injury reports
An Indiana father who wasn’t notified that the Indiana Department of Child Services assessed allegations of abuse and neglect until two years after his twins were injured couldn’t convince the Court of Appeals of Indiana that the agency should be found negligent.
RFRA defense fails to stop child abuse prosecution
A Lawrence County man tried to defend himself against child abuse charges by asserting his right to religious freedom, but the Court of Appeals of Indiana found the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act did not apply in his case because the prosecution demonstrated it had chosen the least restrictive means to advance the state’s compelling interest in protecting children.
COA affirms for mom in false reporting child abuse case brought against father, girlfriend
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has upheld a nearly $300,000 judgment in favor of a mother who sued her ex-husband and his new girlfriend for making a false claim of child abuse against her.
Mother’s neglect of dependent resulting in death conviction upheld
A woman convicted of felony neglect of a dependent resulting in death after she left her infant son in the care of his father, who she knew had previously expressed thoughts of harming the child, did not find relief from the Court of Appeals of Indiana.
COA: Trial court didn’t err in child porn case
A split Court of Appeals of Indiana has determined a trial court didn’t err when it sentenced a Dubois County man to 21 years in prison after finding thousands of videos depicting child pornography on a hard drive in his home.
Obstruction of justice bill signed into law
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has signed into law a bill that aims to foster a more efficient legal process for domestic violence and child abuse cases where witnesses are likely to fail to appear or not testify truthfully.
Couple facing TPR, felony charges for ‘biblical’ discipline suing DCS, using RFRA as defense
A southern Indiana couple facing both criminal charges and the termination of their parental rights due to allegations of unreasonable discipline against their children are seeking to use Indiana’s controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act to end, or at least pause, the litigation against them.
Senate committee advances bill giving intervention rights to ‘kinship caregivers’
The Indiana Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 410 on Wednesday, a measure designed to give “kinship caregivers” the right to intervene in termination of parental rights cases.
Senate advances bill to amend obstruction statute, but keeps lawyers’ exemption
A proposed bill that would have removed lawyers’ exemption against obstruction of justice charges has passed out of an Indiana Senate committee, but the provision regarding lawyers was stripped in an amendment.