Indiana Code 35-42-4-3: Child Molesting Penalties by Felony Level

Indiana Code 35-42-4-3 is the state’s child molesting statute. It makes it a felony to engage in sexual intercourse, other sexual conduct, or sexual touching with a child under 14, and it assigns felony classifications from Level 4 up to Level 1 depending on what happened and who was involved. Prison terms reach 50 years, and a conviction carries lifetime sex offender registration and residency restrictions.

What the Statute Prohibits

The law splits prohibited conduct into two categories, each with its own base felony level.

The first is sexual intercourse or other sexual conduct with a child under 14. That is a Level 3 felony at baseline.¹

The second is fondling or touching either the child or the older person when the purpose is sexual arousal or gratification. That is a Level 4 felony at baseline.¹

Both require the child to have been under 14 at the time. The statute also reaches attempts: a person can be convicted of attempted child molesting even when the other individual was actually 14 or older, as long as the accused believed the person was under 14. That provision is often used in law enforcement sting operations.¹

Every violation is a felony. The misdemeanor classifications used elsewhere in Indiana’s criminal code do not apply here.

Aggravating Factors That Raise the Charge

Certain circumstances push a base charge up to a higher felony level.

For sexual intercourse or other sexual conduct, any one of the following elevates the offense from Level 3 to Level 1:

The person committing the offense is at least 21 years old.
The offense involves the use or threat of deadly force, or the offender is armed with a deadly weapon.
The child suffers serious bodily injury.
The offense is facilitated by giving the child a drug or controlled substance without the child’s knowledge.
The offense transmits a serious sexually transmitted disease, and the offender knew they were infected.

For fondling or touching, the charge rises from Level 4 to Level 2 if the offender used or threatened deadly force, was armed with a deadly weapon, or drugged the victim.¹

The age-based enhancement is where most Level 1 charges come from. Because the child must already be under 14, any adult over 21 who has sexual intercourse or other sexual conduct with the child automatically faces the top felony level. The prosecution does not need to prove anything beyond the two ages.

Prison Time and Fines

Indiana sets a fixed range for each felony level. Judges pick a term within the range using an advisory sentence as a starting point.

Level 1 Felony

Child molesting at Level 1 carries an enhanced range of 20 to 50 years, with an advisory sentence of 30 years. The standard Level 1 maximum for other crimes is 40 years, but the legislature extended the cap to 50 years specifically for child molesting. A fine of up to $10,000 may also be imposed.²

Level 2 Felony

When fondling or touching is aggravated by force, weapons, or drugging the victim, the charge is a Level 2 felony. The range is 10 to 30 years, with an advisory sentence of 17.5 years.

Level 3 Felony

Sexual intercourse or other sexual conduct with a child under 14, without aggravating factors, carries 3 to 16 years with an advisory sentence of 9 years. Fines can reach $10,000.³

Level 4 Felony

Fondling or touching without aggravating circumstances carries 2 to 12 years with an advisory sentence of 6 years.⁴

The One Statutory Defense

The statute recognizes a single affirmative defense: that the accused reasonably believed the child was at least 16 years old at the time. Note the threshold. Even though the crime covers children under 14, the defense requires a belief that the child was 16 or older.¹

The defense disappears entirely if any of these are true:

The offense involved the use or threat of deadly force, or the person was armed with a deadly weapon.
The offense resulted in serious bodily injury to the child.
The offense was facilitated by drugging the victim without the victim’s knowledge.

General criminal defenses still apply. Prosecutors must prove the accused acted knowingly or intentionally, so challenging the mental state is always available, as are mistaken identity and insufficiency of the evidence.¹

What Is Not a Defense

Consent has no legal relevance. Indiana law does not recognize the ability of a child under 14 to consent to sexual conduct, and a jury will not hear argument on it.

Duress is also unavailable. Indiana’s duress statute excludes offenses against the person under Title 35, Article 42, and child molesting sits inside that article. A defendant cannot claim they were forced or coerced into committing this offense.⁵

How Long Prosecutors Have to File Charges

A prosecution under this statute must begin before the alleged victim turns 31. If a child was five when the abuse occurred, the state has until that person is 31 to file charges.⁶

Three separate discoveries can extend the deadline by five years each: DNA evidence sufficient to charge the offender, a recording providing sufficient evidence, or a confession related to the offense. The five years runs from the date the state first learns of the evidence.⁶

Sex Offender Registration

Conviction under Indiana Code 35-42-4-3 triggers mandatory sex offender registration. The offender must register in person with the local law enforcement authority for their residence and report any change in personal information within 72 hours.⁷

Registration requires name and aliases, date of birth, physical description, Social Security number, vehicle information, home and work addresses, school enrollment, and all email addresses and social media usernames.⁷

Under the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), in-person verification runs on a tiered schedule. The most serious tier reports every three months for life; the middle tier reports every six months for 25 years; the lowest tier reports annually for 15 years. Child molesting convictions involving sexual intercourse or sexual conduct with a child under 14 fall at the top tier.⁸

Where a Convicted Offender Can Live

Indiana limits where a person convicted of child molesting and required to register may reside. The offender cannot live within 1,000 feet of a school (excluding colleges and universities), a youth program center, a public park, or a licensed daycare center. The offender also cannot live within one mile of the victim’s residence or in a home where child care services are provided.⁹

“Reside” is defined broadly. Spending more than three nights at a location within any 30-day period counts, which blocks offenders from rotating between addresses to skirt the rule. A violation is itself a Level 6 felony.⁹

Restitution If Pregnancy Results

When the offense causes pregnancy, the court must order the offender to pay restitution covering pregnancy and childbirth expenses. The statute makes this mandatory rather than discretionary.¹

1
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-42-4-3 – Child Molesting
2
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-4 – Class A Felony; Level 1 Felony
3
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-5 – Level 3 Felony
4
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-5.5 – Level 4 Felony
5
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-41-3-8 – Duress
6
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-41-4-2 – Periods of Limitation
7
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 11-8-8-8 – Registration Requirements
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Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. SORNA In Person Registration Requirements
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-42-4-11 – Sex Offender Residency