Favorable Change Coming to Indiana’s Sex Offender Registration Act

The 2023 session of the Indiana General Assembly is now over, and there was one change made to Indiana’s Sex Offender Registration Act that will be a benefit for many registrants. If a person is registering as the result of a delinquent act, Senate Enrolled Act 464 provides a process for the person to seek removal. The registrant need not wait until s/he has registered for a certain period of time; so long as the registrant has completed all court-ordered sex offender treatment a petition can be filed. Once a petition is filed, the court is required to consider expert testimony on whether the person is likely to repeat a sex offense.

There is no limit to the number of times the registrant can file a petition. Also, juveniles adjudicated delinquent cannot even be placed on the registry until after they have completed their treatment. Thus, any time after a child is placed on the registry the statute allows him/her to immediately file for removal.

A copy of the act, set to take effect on July 1st, can be found here.