People in Indianapolis probably can guess that a person who gets accused under Indiana law of certain sex crimes, including things like child molesting or rape, are in very serious trouble.
These sorts of charges carry with them some of the most serious penalties in Indiana, and they can land even a first-time offender in prison for years or even decades.
These sentences are also longer in another respect. Like many other states, Indiana allows those in prison to earn what is called good time credit by a number of means, including by simply following the rules of their prison system and not causing trouble.
For lesser charges, good time credit can reduce jail time by up to 50 percent, meaning that a prisoner could get a two-year sentence but wind up serving one year in prison and one year on parole.
For many sex crimes, however, the matter is very different. In many cases, a person who gets sent to jail will only earn a day of credit for every three days they actually spend in jail, meaning that they will serve three-fourths of their prison sentence in prison.
Some more serious offenses require that a prisoner spend 85 percent of their sentence in prison, even if they take every opportunity afforded to them to show that they are sorry and are working toward rehabilitation.
The reason we bring this up is that it is just one more consequence those accused of sex crimes may face if they get convicted. It is all the more reason why such people, if accused, should strongly consider speaking to an experienced criminal defense attorney.