UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

By Tom Heyden
BBC News Magazine

Bill Cosby faces a string of allegations of sexual assault but cannot be prosecuted in the US because of the statute of limitations. In the UK there is no time limit in sexual abuse and other serious cases. What explains this difference?

The statute of limitations is effectively an expiry date for allegations of crimes. And that expiry date varies from state to state in the US.

In recent years in the UK, there have been a number of high-profile prosecutions of historical sexual abuse cases. Entertainer Rolf Harris was jailed last year for offences that took place between 1968 and 1986. Broadcaster Stuart Hall was jailed in 2013 for offences between 1967 and 1985. TV weather presenter Fred Talbot was jailed this year for offences that took place in 1975 and 1976.

Labour peer Lord Janner is…