OKLAHOMA
Tulsa World
By Barbara Hoberock Tulsa World
OKLAHOMA CITY — Gov. Mary Fallin on Wednesday signed a measure giving victims of sexual abuse until age 45 to bring a civil suit against the perpetrator.
The current age is 20, said Rep. Carol Bush, R-Tulsa, the House author of House Bill 1470.
Bush said it often takes a long time for survivors of child abuse to heal enough to talk about what happened to them.
“It gives some sort of closure on a bad chapter of their lives so they can move on,” Bush said.
Sen. David Holt, R-Oklahoma City, is the Senate author. He said research shows that child sexual abuse victims normally do not want to talk about the crime until they are in their 40s.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.