An Act to extend the statute of limitations for incest

Lead Sponsor: Representative John J. Lawn, Jr.

Impetus
Embarrassment, humiliation, shame, and trauma are a few of the factors that may cause survivors of sexual assault to delay in making timely reports to law enforcement. Survivors who eventually report may do so only after periods of considerable delay, sometimes years later. When the perpetrator is a family member or caretaker, the trauma may be even more complex.  Perpetrators of incest often use their access to victims, or a victim's dependency on them, to exert fear and intimidation that prevents survivors from reporting while the physical abuse is ongoing and even after it has ended.

Need

• The Legislature addressed the complex issues in reporting and pursuing charges of sexual assault in 1996 when it increased the statute of limitations for prosecuting these crimes. The amendment, however, did not apply to the crime of incest.
• Currently, the statute of limitations begins to run when a victim reaches the age of 16. At 16, however, many survivors of incest are still living in the same home as, and are dependent upon, the perpetrator of the crime.
• An extension of the tolling period to the age of 18. when survivors would no longer legally be under their perpetrator's care and control, would better address the particular dynamics that survivors of incest face and is appropriate.

Legislative Fix

• Amends the statute of limitations for prosecuting crimes of incest so that it is commensurate with the time period that currently applies to other sex assault crimes.