Nassar survivors offered $215M settlement by USA Gymnastics
USA Gymnastics has filed a bankruptcy plan that includes an offer of $215 million for sexual abuse survivors to settle their claims against the embattled Indianapolis-based organization.
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Web Exclusive: Senate passes bill extending sex crimes statute of limitations
A bill that would have done away with the statute of limitations for certain child sex abuse crimes is making headway in the 2020 Indiana General Assembly. But some advocates are disappointed in how the bill has panned out.
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2 lawyers on Trump defense team shared Epstein as a client
Two of the lawyers on President Donald Trump’s impeachment defense team have shared another client: Alan Dershowitz and Ken Starr both helped the late hedge fund manager and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein win a lenient sentence for abusing underaged girls.
COA reinstates petition to get off sex offender registry
A man’s petition to remove his name from the Indiana Sex Offender Registry was reinstated Friday when an appellate panel concluded that the trial court that dismissed the petition had jurisdiction to consider it.
Vagueness issue divides COA in sex offender vehicle registry case
A divided Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed the denial of a sex offender’s motion to dismiss a charge brought against him for driving without registering his vehicle, despite a dissenting judge’s argument that the statute he was charged under was too vague.
Justices reject Fifth Amendment appeal of sex offender treatment
The Indiana Supreme Court has found no constitutional violation against a father who refused to participate in a sex offender treatment program that he argued would violate his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Sex offender registration requirement reversed for voyeurism conviction
A man convicted of voyeurism won’t have to register as a sex offender, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled, concluding the man was not convicted of a crime requiring that he do so.
Convicted Indiana sex offender charged with raping Amish woman
An Elkhart man with felony rape and child molestation convictions on his record has been charged with sexually assaulting an Amish woman last month in Marshall County. The Elkhart Truth reports 49-year-old Michael Middaugh is charged with rape, burglary with an armed weapon and criminal confinement.
COA affirms sex offender’s sentence
An Indiana Court of Appeals panel has affirmed a sex offender’s seven-year sentence despite his assertions that the sentence was inappropriate, despite a finding that a trial court improperly used the offender’s risk assessment scores as an aggravating factor.
Appeals court rejects sexually violent predator’s habeas petition
A man convicted of repeated child sex offenses must continue to register as a sexually violent predator, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday, rejecting his habeas corpus petition that asserted he was being subjected to unlawful lifetime parole.
Billionaire financier Epstein due in court over sex charges
Wealthy financier and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is due in court after his arrest in New York on new underage sex-trafficking charges involving allegations that date to the early 2000s, according to law enforcement officials.
High court: Sex offender law doesn’t violate Constitution
The U.S. Supreme Court says Congress didn’t do anything improper when it gave the attorney general the ability to decide how to apply a sex offender registry law to more than 500,000 people convicted before the law was enacted.
Report: Detective’s contact with USA Gymnastics not a breach
An internal Indianapolis police investigation has determined a detective didn’t violate department policies by working with USA Gymnastics’ former chief executive to deflect criticism of the organization’s child abuse reporting policies. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department conducted a months-long probe into the actions of Lt. Bruce Smith, an acquaintance of ex-USA Gymnastics CEO Steve Penny who formerly ran the department’s Child Abuse Unit.
7th Circuit rules DOC sex offender program violates Constitution
Finding the disclosures provide information that any law enforcement agent “would love to have,” the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled Indiana’s requirement that sex offender inmates give detailed accounts of their past actions violates the Constitution’s protections against self-incrimination.
Majority justices reverse probation violation for judge’s inconsistent statements
A probation violation will be removed from a convicted sex offender’s record after a divided Indiana Supreme Court determined a trial judge’s inconsistent statements meant there was insufficient evidence to support a finding of a probation violation.
Ex-Goodwill worker gets prison for recording bathroom videos at Fishers store
A former Goodwill employee has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for secretly recording bathroom videos of workers at a suburban Indianapolis store. Ritchie Hodges was given his punishment Thursday.
Indiana diocese releases names of 18 accused ex-clergy
The Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend has released the names of 17 former priests and one former deacon who have been credibly accused of sexual abusing minors.
Sex offender’s rights not violated by registration extension
An Allen County sex offender’s constitutional rights were not violated when the period of time he was required to register as a sex offender was extended after a legislative amendment enacted after he was convicted of the sex crime, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
COA: Sex offender registration is mandatory collateral consequence
Despite arguing his guilty plea did not include a sex offense, a Steuben County man will have to remain on the state’s sex offender registry after the Indiana Court of Appeals found registering was a collateral consequence for his conviction.
Michigan State president’s email disparaged lawyers, Nassar victim
Michigan State University’s interim president criticized lawyers who represent Larry Nassar’s sex assault victims and suggested that the first woman to go public with her accusations was probably getting a “kickback” from her attorney, according to emails.
DCS launching online background check portal Monday
The Indiana Department of Child Services will begin using an online background check program next week, a change the department expects will expedite new employee processing by about two weeks.