jean30 asked this question on 5/10/2000:
Is there a statue of limitations regarding child abuse? If so .. is it different by state? Or is this a Federal Law?
lakers gave this response on 5/10/2000:
Most states have laws limiting the time during which crimes other than murder may be prosecuted. All states have time limitations for bringing a lawsuit to recover money for damages from the wrongdoing of another- a civil action. In recent years, many states have adopted extensions to their criminal and civil statutes of limitation for cases of child sexual abuse and in certain other sexual assault cases. The length of extension varies greatly between the states.
The majority of states that limit the time within which criminal prosecutions must be brought extends the time for cases of sexual offenses against children. Those states have recognized the power imbalance between child victims and the adult perpetrators, who are often family members. Child victims are more easily intimidated by offenders. The position of authority occupied by the perpetrator also enables the offender to confuse the child, by assuring the child that the sexual conduct is not wrongful and/or threatening the child with terrible consequences if he/she discloses the activity. This makes reporting of offenses less likely. Moreover, child victims may be too young to know how or what to report. States also recognize that child victims may suffer memory repression or severe psychological trauma from the nature of the offense. For all these reasons, most legislatures have extended the limitations period for the prosecution of child sexual offenses.
Some states have NO TIME LIMITATION for the prosecution of most sexual offenses against children. These include: Alabama, Alaska, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. You would have to refer to the state statutes to see specific crimes this is meant for.
In addition, several states have NO STATUTE of LIMITATION for prosecutions of the most serious form of sexual assault, regardless of the age of the victim. These include Florida, Indiana, Mississippi,New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota.
Most other states have some form of extension of the limitation period. Generally these extensions are set out in the statute, but in a few jurisdictions this is simply a matter of law as created by court decisions (common law). The extension of time may be based on: a set number of years from the date of the crime; the date the child reaches majority; the date the crime is first reported to law enforcement or another governmental agency; the date the victim discovers the crime or some combination of extensions.
Even in states where there is an extended time limitation to prosecute someone for sexual abuse of a child, in some older cases of molestaiton there may not have been a criminal law in effect at the time of abuse that prohibited that particular conduct. Check with prosecutorial agencies in the jurisdiction where the abuse took place if there are any questions about this.
Regarding civil actions, as of 1997 28 states had adopted an extension of time limitation based on the "discovery" of child sexual abuse or its effects. In other states, common law might extend the time limitations.
As for federal law, I have no information. The federal jurisdiction over these cases is usually rare.
Visit your local law library or see if your state posts its statutes on the internet for further questions.
The average rating for this answer is 5.
jean30 rated this answer a 5.
Fantastic!!! Thank you ;-)