statute of limitations on child molestation charges

[eva_]

Hi, my name is Eva and I am currently taking an adminstration of justice class at school right now and am looking for some information for a paper I am doing for class. Can anyone tell me what the statute of limitations is on child molestation charges?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Originally posted by eva:
Hi, my name is Eva and I am currently taking an adminstration of justice class at school right now and am looking for some information for a paper I am doing for class. Can anyone tell me what the statute of limitations is on child molestation charges?

It varies from state to state, Eva. In New York State three laws that apply are Penal Law Article 130, Penal Law Section 255.25 and Penal Law Section 263.05.

In general, the statute of limitations for rape or sodomy felonies is five years from the date the crime was committed. For misdemeanors (sexual contact without consent) the statute of limitations is two years from the date the crime was committed.

Since Legislature realized that young children who are victims of sexual crimes and they might not be apt to report them, the law was changed in 1996 to "toll" the statute of limitations or delay the clock from running until the child turned 18 or until the crime was reported to the police or Statewide Central Registry, whichever occurs earlier. So for example, if a crime occurred in 1997 then the parents of a ten-year-old child have 13 years (until 2010) to report and prosecute this crime if it's a felony and 10 years (until 2007) to report and prosecute if it is a misdemeanor.