Sec. 6. (a) A person who commits a Class C felony (for a crime committed before July 1, 2014) shall be imprisoned for a fixed term of between two (2) and eight (8) years, with the advisory sentence being four (4) years. In addition, the person may be fined not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

     (b) A person who commits a Level 5 felony (for a crime committed after June 30, 2014) shall be imprisoned for a fixed term of between one (1) and six (6) years, with the advisory sentence being three (3) years. In addition, the person may be fined not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

Attorney's Note

Under the Indiana Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Level 5 felonybetween 1 and 6 yearsup to $10,000
Level 6 felonybetween 6 mos. and 2 1/2 yearsup to $10,000
For details, see Ind. Code § 35-50-2-6 and Ind. Code § 35-50-2-7

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Terms Used In Indiana Code 35-50-2-6

  • Attorney: includes a counselor or other person authorized to appear and represent a party in an action or special proceeding. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • felony conviction: means a conviction, at any time, with respect to which the convicted person might have been imprisoned for more than one (1) year. See Indiana Code 35-50-2-1
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Verified: when applied to pleadings, means supported by oath or affirmation in writing. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
     (c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), if a person commits nonsupport of a child as a Class C felony (for a crime committed before July 1, 2014) or a Level 5 felony (for a crime committed after June 30, 2014) under IC 35-46-1-5, the sentencing court may convert the Class C felony conviction to a Class D felony conviction or a Level 5 felony conviction to a Level 6 felony conviction if, after receiving a verified petition as described in subsection (d) and after conducting a hearing in which the prosecuting attorney has been notified, the court makes the following findings:

(1) The person has successfully completed probation as required by the person’s sentence.

(2) The person has satisfied other obligations imposed on the person as required by the person’s sentence.

(3) The person has paid in full all child support arrearages due that are named in the information and no further child support arrearage is due.

(4) The person has not been convicted of another felony since the person was sentenced for the underlying nonsupport of a child felony.

(5) There are no criminal charges pending against the person.

     (d) A petition filed under subsection (c) must be verified and set forth the following:

(1) A statement that the person was convicted of nonsupport of a child under IC 35-46-1-5.

(2) The date of the conviction.

(3) The date the person completed the person’s sentence.

(4) The amount of the child support arrearage due at the time of conviction.

(5) The date the child support arrearage was paid in full.

(6) A verified statement that no further child support arrearage is due.

(7) Any other obligations imposed on the person as part of the person’s sentence.

(8) The date the obligations were satisfied.

(9) A verified statement that there are no criminal charges pending against the person.

     (e) A person whose conviction has been converted to a lower penalty under this section is eligible to seek expungement under IC 35-38-9-3 with the date of conversion used as the date of conviction to calculate time frames under IC 35-38-9.

As added by Acts 1976, P.L.148, SEC.8. Amended by Acts 1977, P.L.340, SEC.119; P.L.167-1990, SEC.1; P.L.213-1996, SEC.5; P.L.71-2005, SEC.9; P.L.158-2013, SEC.659; P.L.148-2014, SEC.2; P.L.168-2014, SEC.116.