Sec. 16. (a) A person eligible for assistance under section 12 of this chapter may file an application for assistance with the division if the violent crime was committed in Indiana.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (e), the application must be received by the division not more than one hundred eighty (180) days after the date the crime was committed. The division may grant an extension of time for good cause shown by the claimant. However, and except as provided in subsection (e), the division may not accept an application that is received more than two (2) years after the date the crime was committed.

(c) The application must be filed in the office of the division in person, through the division's Internet web site, or by first class or certified mail. If requested, the division shall assist a victim in preparing the application.

(d) The division shall accept all applications filed in compliance with this chapter. Upon receipt of a complete application, the division shall promptly begin the investigation and processing of an application.

(e) An alleged victim of a child sex crime may submit an application to the division until the victim becomes thirty-one (31) years of age.

(f) An alleged victim of a battery offense included in IC 35-42-2 upon a child less than fourteen (14) years of age may submit an application to the division not later than five (5) years after the commission of the offense.

As added by P.L.47-1993, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.121-2006, SEC.9; P.L.48-2012, SEC.5; P.L.238-2015, SEC.2; P.L.65-2016, SEC.2.