Rep. Chris Jeter declined to say whether his amendment was aimed at drag queen story times. He is shown speaking with a colleague in the House chamber on Jan. 9, 2025. (Courtesy Indiana House Republicans)
Indiana lawmakers on Wednesday chose not to strip key provisions from legislation tightening handling of child sex abuse materials — yet — but did add a ban on any government-funded “obscene performance.”
The House Committee on Courts and Criminal Code also moved a proposal allowing unelected officials convicted of official misconduct a path toward expungement.
Senate Bill 326’s original purpose was replacing use of the phrase “child pornography” throughout Indiana Code with “child sex abuse material.”
“Whether you believe it’s right or wrong, (pornography) is legal. It exists in our society. That’s not what these images are,” said Courtney Curtis, of the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council. “In these images, these children are being molested. They are being sexually abused. We should call it that.”
The measure would also require Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) employees, school employees and attorneys to “immediately” notify law enforcement about such materials and avoid file transfers to avoid prosecution — prompting concerns among committee members.
Curtis said those changes would bring Indiana Code up to federal standards.
She described observing the misalignment firsthand while working for the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Victims Team.
“There was a high school in Indianapolis where, instead of calling law enforcement or calling DCS, they called their attorney in order to protect the teacher,” Curtis said. “And their attorney took the laptop, took it to the law firm, did not report, uploaded the material onto the mainframe. That is a federal crime.”
Committee members, however, feared the language would ensnare well-meaning parents and professionals. They considered an amendment to delete it.
Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, told members that he’d rather they kill his bill instead of stripping out a core provision that mimics federal law. They relented, agreeing to instead make any fixes on the House floor.
The committee accepted other changes, however — including a possible attempt to bar drag performers from reading children’s stories in public libraries or schools.
An amendment from Rep. Chris Jeter, R-Fishers, specifies that a government entity can’t organize or use public money to fund “an obscene performance.” It was adopted through a voice vote, over Democrats’ opposition.
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When asked if he was trying to ban drag story times, Jeter told Indiana Public Broadcasting, “I’m trying to ban any obscene performance, as it’s defined in the code … because, by definition, they’re harmful. Because it’s a crime.”
“I’ve heard about it in other places and seen some things in other states,” Jeter continued, describing them as “performances that are sexual in nature” and “that are not appropriate for minors.”
He demurred when asked again about drag story times, saying, “It’s tough for me to apply the law to a specific fact pattern you’re giving me because I don’t know. We’re relying on … communities to look at the definition and decide whether … it actually is obscene.”
Obscenity comes with high standards.
Read more: Obscene, or just objectionable? Here’s how Indiana schools are tackling library book complaints.
To qualify under Indiana law, materials or performance must, as a whole:
describe or represent nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sado-masochistic abuse;appeal to the prurient interest in sex of minors;be patently offensive to prevailing standards of what’s appropriate for minors;and lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.
“This is a do-nothing amendment,” said Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, because the bar is so high. But, he argued, it “suggests that we think that people are (putting on obscene performances), which I think is an affront to anyone who’s running a governmental entity in this state.”
Rep. Mitch Gore, D-Indianapolis, said he believed the amendment’s intent is “a chilling effect on performances that people personally don’t like.”
Senate Bill 326 advanced on a unanimous, 13-0 vote.
Expungements debated
The committee also touched on expungements for official misconduct — just one piece of the complex Senate Bill 281.
The legislation stipulates that people convicted of official misconduct, as long as they’re not elected officials convicted while campaigning or in office, can petition courts to expunge all conviction records.
Rep. Greg Steuerwald, the bill’s House sponsor, said Indiana’s expungement laws are “extremely difficult to understand,” adding, “This is what happens when you amend the statute over the years.” He planned to take on a “comprehensive re-write” in the future.
“In fact, this situation that my client actually is going to testify to, … the prosecutor at the time was willing to expunge the record, but (we) discovered later that we misread it and he was not eligible,” Steuerwald said.
The lone witness was Jed Adams, a former Marion County Sheriff’s deputy. He was caught selling drugs out of his car in 2015, CBS4 reported.
“I made a bad decision that ultimately ended with me taking a plea agreement in May of 2016 for official misconduct, a Level Six felony,” Adams said. “I support Senate Bill 281, as I’m a firm believer in second chances. I’ve owned and accepted the consequences of my poor decision that I made that day.”
He said the conviction was preventing him from coaching a junior high team, cleanly pass a background check, get a gun permit and carry a handgun.
“I feel that my story is a testimony to how people can make a mistake, accept the consequences, and become a better version of themselves,” Adams concluded. “If this bill passes, it will give individuals like myself opportunities to contribute more to our communities.”
Steuerwald told the Capital Chronicle that elected officials can “never” get expungements for official misconduct, but that others “should at least be eligible.”
“There are serious violent felons who are eligible (for expungement) right now, but a non-elected official, non-violent isn’t eligible,” he said.
The legislation, which moved on a 12-1 vote, would also prohibit expungement for a person convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon.
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Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.
