Sen. Chuck Schumer Pushes to Extend Statute of Limitations for Sex Crimes Victims

By Michael O’Keeffe
New York Daily News
April 20, 2016

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/sen-schumer-pushes-extend-statute-sex-crimes-victims-article-1.2609238

Sen. Chuck Schumer is pushing to extend the statute of limitations in federal civil cases for victims of sexual abuse, sex trafficking and other crimes related to child pornography.

The sands of time should not protect sexual predators, Sen. Chuck Schumer said Wednesday.

The New York Democrat has added a provision to his Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of 2016 that would extend the statute of limitations in federal civil cases for victims of sexual abuse, sex trafficking and other crimes related to child pornography.

“Justice should not come with an expiration date,” Schumer told the Daily News.

Victims of child sex crimes are currently barred from filing civil litigation after their 21st birthday in federal court against people who exploited them after. Schumer's bill would extend the statute of limitations to their 28th birthday.

Victim advocates say it takes many years and sometimes decades for many survivors of sexual exploitation to publicly acknowledge the abuse they suffered. Victims of child pornography may not know that they were exploited until long after their 21st birthday. The Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act, named after the murdered son of “America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh, will provide $56.8 million over the next two years for U.S. marshals to track down and apprehend fugitive sex offenders. The bill also calls for rape kits to be preserved and calls for a bill of rights for sex-assault survivors.

In New York, a pair of bills seek to eliminate the statute of limitations on the state level. Victims of sex abuse have until their 23rd birthday to seek civil or criminal action in state court.