PENDLETON, Ind. — A licensed therapist from Pendleton who worked with children with autism has been sentenced after he pleaded guilty to child sex crimes.
The Fishers Police Department announced a Madison County judge sentenced 31-year-old Alec Hegge to 91 years in the Indiana Department of Correction after he pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- Child molesting — Level 1 felony
- Child molesting — Level 2 felony
- Child exploitation — Level 4 felony
- Two counts of possession of child sex abuse material — Level 5 felony
According to police, Hegge pleaded guilty to the crimes without a plea agreement.
Prosecutors say Hegge’s abuse was found as part of a sting on a woman in Ohio. The woman worked as a nanny, and she would allegedly sexually assault the children she cared for and record the abuse to exchange with Hegge. He, in turn, would share child sex abuse material he produced with a baby girl.
According to court documents, Hegge and the woman discussed plans to sexually abuse her own, unborn child during her pregnancy.
When police raided her home in March 2025, the woman told police she was making the child sex abuse material because she feared Hegge would blackmail her.
Police in Fishers followed up on the investigation, tracking Hegge through the Snapchat account he used to communicate with the Ohio woman.
On July 24, the Hamilton County Metro Child Exploitation Task Force executed a search warrant on Hegge. According to court documents, he admitted to a long list of crimes during the interview.
Police say Hegge admitted he encouraged the woman to sexually assault the young children she was caring for and paid her to send him child sex abuse material recorded during the assaults.
Hegge also admitted to sexually abusing a young child more than 100 times.
Police said they found at least 140 files of child sex abuse material on Hegge’s digital devices.
At no point in the court documents do investigators mention Hegge admitting to abusing his patients as a therapist.
“Incredibly concerning because some of those children aren’t even communicative. You know, they can’t even communicate,” Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings said.
Hegge worked at Changing Lives Behavior Analysis, Inc. in Anderson, but he no longer works at the facility, which is cooperating with investigators.
“Not surprising. People who engage in these activities often gravitate towards those kind of places, find more opportunities,” Cummings said.