GREENLEAF BILL TO EXTEND STATUTE OF
LIMITATIONS PASSES
HARRISBURG –A bill sponsored by Sen. Greenleaf to extend the statute of
limitations for child sexual abuse under civil law, and for sexual assault
crimes involving victims of any age, has been passed by the General Assembly and
awaits the signature of the Governor to become law.
Senate Bill 212 would lengthen the period of time for a victim of
childhood sexual abuse to file a civil action against a perpetrator to 12 years
after reaching age 18. Current
state law, which is one of the most restrictive in the nation, allows a window
of two years after age 18 to file a lawsuit.
Greenleaf, who first offered the proposal in 1993, pointed out that it
takes time for a victim of childhood sexual abuse to become independent and come
to terms with the trauma of being abused, especially if the abuse was
perpetrated by a close relative or some other trusted adult.
“These children are often made to feel as if they are somehow
responsible for what happened to them. It
takes time for them to understand that they were victimized and that they
deserve justice,” he said.
The measure’s extension of the criminal statute of limitations would
lengthen the time period for prosecution of the offenses of rape, statutory
sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault,
aggravated indecent assault, incest, and sexual abuse of children.
The period of time for prosecution would be expanded from
the current five years to within 12 years of the occurrence of the crime and
would pertain to victims of any age.
The senator noted that advances in crime-solving technology, along with
the extension of the criminal statute of limitations, should result in the
resolution of some unsolved cases. “The
extension would aid victims of unsolved cases in instances when DNA evidence
from a perpetrator arrested for a subsequent crime matches the evidence
preserved from the unsolved case,” he said.
“Perpetrators of sexual crimes often have multiple victims.
This extension should help bring such dangerous offenders to justice,”
he said.
Under current law, the statute of limitations for sex crimes involving
child victims does not start running until the victim reaches age 18.
Therefore, the changes under Senate Bill 212 will provide a further
extension of the period for prosecution to commence against a perpetrator who
victimizes children.
