VAIDIK, J.
Following his plea of guilty to Class C felony nonsupport of a dependent, Dannie Ray Runyon was sentenced to a suspended sentence of eight years and placed on probation with several conditions. Runyon later violated his probation by failing to pay child support. Runyon now appeals the revocation of his probation and imposition of six years of his previously-suspended eight-year sentence. We hold that when revoking a defendant’s probation for failing to support his or her dependents, the defendant bears the burden of proving that he or she was unable to provide support pursuant to Indiana Code section 35-38-2-3 (f). Based on the record in this case, we conclude that Runyon has failed to prove that he had the inability to provide support and therefore the trial court did not abuse its discretion in revoking his probation. We also conclude that, given the multiple chances Runyon has been given to pay support, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing him to six years. We therefore affirm.
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Runyon argues that revocation of his probation was not warranted because he did not recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally fail to pay his child support. He relies on Indiana Code section 35-38-2-3 (f), which provides: ―Probation may not be revoked for failure to comply with conditions of a sentence that imposes financial obligations on the person unless the person recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally fails to pay.‖ This Court has addressed Section 35-38-2-3(f) numerous times in the context of discussing whether a defendant’s probation should be revoked for failure to pay restitution. In such situations, we have held that the State bears the burden of proving that the defendant had the ability to pay. See Szpunar v. State, 914 N.E.2d 773, 779 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009).
In contrast, this Court has only sparingly addressed Section 35-38-2-3(f) in the context of discussing whether probation should be revoked for failing to pay child support. And when we have addressed subsection (f) in the context of child support, see Gustman, 660 N.E.2d at 356 (addressing child support as a condition of probation but not specifically mentioning Section 35-38-2-3(f)); Ratliff v. State, 546 N.E.2d 309, 312 n.3 (Ind. Ct. App. 1989) (at that time subsection (f) was located at subsection (e)), trans. denied, we neither fully analyzed the issue nor recognized that revoking probation for failing to pay child support is unique because a person can also be convicted for failing to support his or her dependents. That is, pursuant to Indiana Code section 35-46-1-5:
(a) A person who knowingly or intentionally fails to provide support to the person’s dependent child commits nonsupport of a child, a Class D felony. However, the offense is a Class C felony if the total amount of unpaid support that is due and owing for one (1) or more children is at least fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
“It is a defense that the accused person was unable to provide support.” Ind. Code § 35-46-1-5 (d). Inability to provide support is an affirmative defense to a charge of nonsupport of a dependent. Stephens v. State, 874 N.E.2d 1027, 1034 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007), trans. denied. The defendant bears the burden of proving his or her inability to pay. Id. [Footnote omitted.]
Because in a prosecution for nonsupport of a dependent a defendant bears the burden of proving that he was unable to provide support, it likewise follows that when revoking a defendant’s probation for failing to support his or her dependents, the defendant also bears the burden of proving that he or she was unable to provide support. To hold otherwise would create an undesirable inconsistency; that is, a defendant would have to prove his or her inability to pay in criminal proceedings for nonsupport of a dependent, but the State would have to prove the defendant’s ability to pay in probation revocation proceedings for failure to pay child support. This inconsistency could result in the State strategically choosing either to file a new criminal charge for nonsupport of a dependent (based on the increased amount of unpaid child support) or to institute a probation revocation proceeding, depending on what burden it believed could be proven based on the evidence it possessed. Therefore, we conclude that if the State files a petition to revoke a defendant’s probation based upon the defendant’s failure to pay child support pursuant to Indiana Code section 35-38-2-2.3 (a)(4), the defendant bears the burden of proving that he or she had the inability to pay.
RILEY, J., and CRONE, J., concur.