Lawmakers try to close rape law ‘loophole’

When Stephanie Stewart invited a home security sales representative into her Carmel home in June 2019 to give her a cost estimate on an upgrade to her system, she had no idea the encounter would leave her traumatized and covered in bruises.

The sales representative arrived around noon. Shortly after, Stewart blacked out. He left over four hours later — three hours before an unconscious Stewart woke up to a body inflamed with pain. She would later have flashes of memory, telling him to stop.

The next day, she reported to the Carmel Police Department that she had been raped in her home.

But when law enforcement presented her case to the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office, their response brought her more suffering: They wouldn’t be pursuing criminal charges against the man she alleges raped her.


https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2022/01/12/indiana-general-assembly-lawmakers-try-close-rape-law-loophole/9023171002/