Now the DOC and the Hamilton Co prosecutor’s office are in a legal battle as to whether or not the law will be followed on the mandatory lifetime offender notification since the victims were all under the age of 12, or whether or not, once again, Aaron will get special treatment and only get 10 yrs on the list.

That the first thing they did when finding out a family member is molesting children was to orchestrate a cover-up makes me think there is a lot more to this story.

Thanks again for sharing this.

You’re last comment about the ‘likely illegal’ got me to thinking and I vaguely recalled something interesting from past work I’ve done, and so with a quick search of the child abuse laws in Indiana, I stumbled upon this:

IC 31-34-1 A child is in need of services if before the child’s 18th birthday:

* The child’s physical or mental health condition is seriously impaired or seriously endangered as a result of the inability, refusal, or neglect of the child’s parent/guardian/ custodian to supply the child with necessary food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education, or supervision
* The child’s physical or mental health is seriously endangered due to injury by the act or omission of the child’s parent/guardian/custodian. An omission is an occurrence in which the parent/guardian/custodian allowed that person’s child to receive an injury the parent/guardian/custodian had a reasonable opportunity to prevent or mitigate
* The child is the victim of a sex offense under the criminal citations incorporated into the CHINS definition
* The child’s parent/guardian/custodian allows the child to participate in an obscene performance
* The child’s parent/guardian/custodian allows the child to commit a sex offense

It’s the last one that would count here, since Aaron’s parent knew of his behavior, and did nothing about it- thus ALLOWING him to commit a sexual offense.

Of course, it gets better, since Indiana doesn’t really deem only certain people responsible for reporting abuse as defined above (some states make the law to apply only to professionals, they don’t)
———————————–
Reporting:
Any individual who has reason to believe that a child is a victim of child abuse or neglect must make a report. In agencies in which there are established reporting protocols, the report may be made to the individual in charge or another designated agent, who also becomes responsible to report or cause a report to be made. This does not relieve individuals who make a report to another staff person of their own obligation to report directly to child protection services or law enforcement unless a report has already been made by the agency liaison. Anonymous reports are accepted. Failure to make a report can be a Class B misdemeanor.
—————————

So, not only was his father guilty of child abuse by allowing him to commit sex offenses, he broke another law by failing to report the abuse.

Wonder when someone will get around to charging the father?

What do you know??? The investigator himself told me that Aaron molested from the age of 13 until just before turning 18. There has been a ton of underhandedness in this that you don’t know about.

Unless, of course, you are one of the Nichols and in that case……..no wonder you are trying to put a spin on it here.

Getting the Aaron Nichols molestation case was a huge feat I will agree, but why did she stop there? Why not say, no plea bargain without some real consequences – or it will be taken to trial?

This guy has not spent one night in jail. He will still be free to roam about. It should alarm everyone with children.

As far as the Hamilton County Prosecutor, she was very lucky to get Aaron waived to adult court since the crimes occurred when he was under the usual age of 16 or more to waive kids to adult court. That in and of itself is a major jump in this case.

The dad knew and told the son not to tell about the others? Why no charges against the dad too?

Someone who has confessed to molesting children may get no time because his family had the money to hire some expensive lawyers?

The prosecutor in Hamilton County has agreed to this plea bargain? Isn’t she supposed to be FOR the victims?

How can this be?