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Committee approves overhaul of CSAM statutes and raises penalties after wide testimony

Indiana House Courts and Criminal Code Committee · January 14, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

The committee approved HB 13‑03 after adopting technical and penalty amendments to separate possession, distribution and production of child sexual‑abuse material and to raise penalties closer to federal ranges. Law enforcement, prosecutors, survivors and advocates urged the changes; defenders urged careful calibration of sentencing enhancements.

The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee voted April 8 to advance HB 13‑03, a comprehensive restructuring of Indiana's child sexual‑abuse material (CSAM) statutes. Sponsors said the bill separates possession, distribution and production into distinct offenses and increases penalties to better reflect the severity of these crimes and align more closely with federal guidelines.

Representative McNamara presented the bill and described the goal of updating definitions, clarifying discovery rules and matching penalties…

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