Sex offender bill moves forward in Ind.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A bill aimed at closing a loophole in Indiana's sex offender registry uncovered by I-Team 8 is now one step closer to becoming law.

The changes stem from the case of Shawn Corbally, who was found guilty last month of raping a Greenwood woman last July.

He should have been in jail at the time for failing to comply with the requirements of the registry. But, I-Team 8 was first to expose the reason why he wasn’t: the so-called "72 hour rule." It says police must prove a sex offender was away from their home for at least three days without re-registering in a different county in order to file a violation.

Corbally was a compliant, registered sex offender in Clinton County with a lengthy criminal history that included previous rape convictions. He was arrested in Marion County on sexual assault charges the week before the alleged Greenwood rape.

That should have been a violation of his sex offender status, which required him to file notice if he intended to leave his home for more than three days.

But, Corbally had allegedly moved in with his mother in Johnson County. He failed to notify anyone of his move, however, Clinton County officials said. So, they never knew he had left, and no one had documented that he was gone.

Because of that lack of documentation, when the alleged sexual assault victim in Marion County failed to positively identify him as her attacker, Corbally was set free.

HB 1053 will help reduce the chances that happens again, said its sponsor Rep. Greg Steuerwald (R-Danville).

“What we've done here is that any of the counties can file a charge against him: his home county, the county where he said he was going to go, or the county where he did in fact go. So, we've tightened that up where all three counties have jurisdiction to file the criminal charge against the offender,” Steuerwald said.

The measure would also require sex offenders to re-register if they significantly change their appearance. Current state law only requires compliant sex offenders to check in once a year, the Indiana Sheriff’s Association testified, unless they are labeled as sexual predators. Many offenders drastically alter their appearance during that one year period, so the photos associated with them on the publicly available registry can become unrecognizable.

“I have some concerns over what change in appearance really means. If I change the color of my lipstick or I change the color of my hair, have I changed my appearance? I think that definition needs to be made more clear,” Senator Karen Tallian (D-Portage) told the committee. “But, I’ll vote to move this along so we can discuss that on the next reading.”

The measure passed through the House last month on a 92-0 vote. The Senate’s Corrections and Criminal Law Committee approved it by a 9-0 vote Tuesday.

It now moves on to the full Senate for further debate.