Indiana Sending Consenting Adults to Prison For Sex

Lawmakers in Indiana should be embarrassed for allowing to remain on the books laws that criminalize consensual sex between adults. Police should be embarrassed for apprehending people for this “crime.” Any prosecutor, judge, or juror involved in bringing charges, convicting, and sentencing someone for this “crime” should be embarrassed.

Terry A. Hickmott of Rushville was sentenced Friday [March 4] in the Rush Circuit Court to a four year prison term after pleading guilty to Incest, a Class C Felony.

Four year prison term. Why? Where’s the threat to the public or anyone else? What a waste of taxpayer money.

Charges were filed last November by then Chief Deputy Prosecutor Philip Caviness, alleging that the now 32 year-old Hickmott engaged in sexual intercourse or sexual deviate conduct with his sisters.

Philip Caviness, you are wasting your office! Why do you care if people are enjoying sex with each other?

As part of his plea, Hickmott admitted to having sexual relations with one of his adult sisters. Hickmott’s sisters, Rachael Hickmott and Jennifer McDonald, also are charged with incest and their cases remain pending.

So, then, who exactly is the victim?

A condition of his plea agreement is that Mr. Hickmott have no contact with either sister while serving his sentence or while on probation.

How dare anyone tell an adult he can’t have contact with his own sisters when they are willing to have contact with him and apparently are in love or at least attracted to him?

“This is an unpleasant case, and thankfully cases involving allegations of adult siblings having sex with each other are rare,” Caviness said.

Unpleasant for whom, sir? Are you jealous? Rare is not good enough... “cases involving allegations of adult siblings have sex with each other” should never be criminal matters in the first place.

“Under Indiana law, consent is not a defense to the charge of incest. You simply are not allowed to have sex with your biological sibling.” Caviness continued by saying, “Chief Deputy Prosecutor Phillip Morgan handled this case since he took the job in January, and I am pleased with how he resolved it.”

Morgan should be embarrassed, too.

Morgan added, “The statutory sentencing range for a Class C felony is 2 to 8 years in the Department of Correction, and we felt this sentence was fair. Sadly this was a situation that seemed to require incarceration to make sure that this illegal activity stopped.”

In other words, they all still want to be with each other. Why not let them? I beg you to provide one good reason why these lovers should be kept from each other. I wonder how they were found out? I don't see anybody quoted in the story complaining about these people having sex.

How infuriating: sending adults to prison for having sex with each other.

This is a good example of why we need a Marriage Equality Amendment, so that every adult will have a right to love, sex, and marriage (if that is what he or she wants) with any consenting adults. Consanguinamory and consanguineous sex between adults should not be illegal anywhere.