04/29/13 One of State Senator Randy Head’s (R – Logansport) bills to protect Hoosier children cleared the Senate and House of Representatives today. Senate Bill 347 now moves to the governor’s desk for final approval.
SB 347 makes the following changes to Indiana’s criminal code:
· Makes it illegal for sex offenders on probation to communicate with a minor less than 16 years of age using a social networking site.
· Makes it “attempted child molesting” to solicit a child online and then travel to meet him or her.
· Specifies that a person at least 18 years of age can be charged with inappropriate communication with a child. Under current law, the offense can only be committed by a person at least 21 years old.
“Each of the changes in this bill strengthens the penalties against those who prey on children online,” Head said. “As online communication becomes more and more a part of our everyday lives, even for children, our state’s laws must change to ensure we’re deterring predators. I’ve been involved in the effort to update these laws for five years, and now, we have finally done that.”
Rep. Jud McMillin (R-Brookville) is the legislation’s sponsor in the House.
