Understanding the Criminal Justice System
Some people will say that being charged with a sex offense is worse than being charged with murder, and not without reason. While murder carries harsher sentencing penalties and longer prison time, the long-term effects of being convicted of a sex crime can last a lifetime and prevent you from being able to move on with your life.
Most people are aware that Indiana, like most states, has a sex offender registry that lists those convicted of sex crimes and other offenses that require registration under Indiana law. This public record as a sex offender can prevent you from obtaining employment, restrict where you can live, and subject you to isolation, abuse, and harassment long after you have served your sentence.
Registration as a sex offender, however, is only one of the many harsh consequences of a sex crime conviction that follow an offender after they have been released from prison. Indiana law (IC 35-38-2-2.2) imposes certain mandatory probation conditions on adult sex offenders and allows judges to impose a whole range of additional conditions on convicted sex offenders as part of their probation (IC 35-38-2-2.3).
Among the mandatory restrictions, the court will:
The list of discretionary conditions the court may impose is quite lengthy (22 possible conditions) and can touch upon every aspect of the person’s life. You can see a sample order listing all of the possible conditions here. Among some of the more burdensome restrictions that can be imposed:
These are just a few of the possible impositions that sex offenders can expect after they are released from incarceration. Needless to say, putting your past behind you can be difficult if not impossible given the restrictions on your life. While many conditions can be modified or removed over time, presenting an effective defense to sex offense charges in the first place, and retaining the right Indiana criminal defense lawyer to assert that defense, is of the utmost importance.
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