Indiana Court of Appeals concludes defendant does not need to know minor’s age to be convicted of misdemeanor charge

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed that a defendant does not need to know the age of minors to be convicted of misdemeanor counts of contributing to delinquency in a case involving alcohol purchases for teenage girls at a sleepover.

The court also upheld a jail sentence totaling four years for Nicholas Alexander that was handed down in Crawford Circuit Court. The court said in a Sept. 30 opinion that the trial court’s sentence was appropriate because the defendant didn’t appear to show remorse for his actions.

In September 2025, Alexander was convicted in Crawford Circuit Court of three counts of contributing to delinquency after he admitted to buying three 16-year-old girls “a lot” of alcohol — specifically a bottle of vodka and several shot-sized bottles of whiskey — court documents state. He was 19 at the time.

The incident happened in July 2022, when one of the girls asked Alexander to buy them alcohol for a sleepover, court documents said. After the girls became intoxicated, one of them called Alexander back to their sleepover, where he had sex with all three before leaving again, according to court documents.

Alexander was later charged with rape, false informing, three counts of contributing to delinquency, and sexual battery. But a jury found him only guilty of false informing and contributing to delinquency.

He was sentenced to one year in jail on each count.

On appeal, Alexander challenged three issues: whether the state of Indiana showed evidence at trial proving he knew the girls were underage when he gave them the alcohol; whether the trial court abused its discretion at sentencing by considering aggravating factors; and whether his jail sentence was appropriate in light of his character.

The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s decision on all three issues. On the first issue, the appellate court said that, under statute language, the state did not need to prove Alexander knew the girls were underaged to charge him with a misdemeanor. The state just needed to prove the girls were underage and that Alexander knew he was engaging in the “prohibited conduct” of encouraging a child to commit the act of consuming alcohol, according to court documents.

On the second issue, the appellate court said that the trial court appropriately considered two aggravating factors: Alexander’s lack of remorse and the fact that he was charged with additional criminal offenses shortly after the trial for this case, court documents state.

On the third issue, the appellate court stated that Alexander failed to show any evidence that the length of his sentencing was inappropriate.

Judge Mark Bailey wrote the opinion, and Judge Elaine Brown concurred.

Judge Leanna Weissmann dissented with a separate opinion, stating that the state needed to prove Alexander knew the girls were underage to convict him with misdemeanor counts of contributing to delinquency.

The case is Nicholas G. Alexander v. State of Indiana, 25A-CR-2705.