Miranda warnings not necessary for police interview, Indiana Court of Appeals says

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a lower court’s decision to suppress using a police interview as evidence after the subject wasn’t read his Miranda rights.

In a Nov. 4 opinion, the appellate court said Benjerman Hoffman’s interview with the police was admissible evidence, and Miranda warnings were not necessary before he gave it because he voluntarily went to the police station and was not in custody.

In 2025, a 15-year-old girl told a therapist that Hoffman, who was born in 1994, molested her, the court’s opinion said. During a later forensic interview, she made similar allegations about an incident at a baseball field a few years earlier.

On Aug. 1, 2025, Hoffman was interviewed by Detective Patrick Clarke of the New Albany Police Department. He went to the police station after Clarke left messages for him with Hoffman’s wife and mother in law.

During the interview Detective Clarke told Hoffman he was not under arrest and could leave the interview room at any time. He noted that the door to the room was unlocked and that the interview would be recorded.

“You’re not in custody or anything like that. I’m sure you’re aware of the accusations and investigations going on,” he told Hoffman, according to the opinion. “If we get to a point where you’re done talking to me for whatever reason, like I said, that door is unlocked, or you just tell me.”

Hoffman told Detective Clarke he wanted to get the interview done right away because of his military involvement “and the military’s desire to know what was happening,” according to the opinion.

As the interview progressed, Hoffman admitted to having sex with the victim, who was 13 at the time, in September, 2023, in his white van parked by a baseball field, according to the opinion. He told Clarke that the girl offered sex if he did something for her.

“I f**ked up, and I regret it,” Hoffman told police.

Clarke left the room, returned and asked to search Hoffman’s cell phone. He then told Hoffman they were concerned about suicidal thoughts he had been having, and they were going to arrest him.

That day, Hoffman was charged with child molesting, a Level 1 felony. The state later amended the charging information and charged him with five counts of child molesting.

A trial court had granted Hoffman’s motion to suppress the interview, and the Indiana Attorney General’s Office appealed.

The case is State of Indiana v. Benjerman Hoffman, No. 26A-CR-428.