NEW YORK
Times Union
By Matthew Hamilton on June 7, 2017
An emotionally charged state Assembly on Wednesday approved the Child Victims Act legislation to extend the statute of limitation for criminal and civil child sex abuse cases.
It was the first time either chamber of the Legislature has approved that bill since 2008. The legislation’s chances of passage in the state Senate remain uncertain.
Under current law, the statute of limitations for felony sexual abuse crimes runs five years and begins at age 18. Under the legislation, the five-year statute of limitations clock wouldn’t begin until the victim is 23.
The statute of limitations for civil cases would be extended to age 50.
It also would create a one-year window of time for past victims of sexual abuse whose time period to bring a lawsuit has passed to file a civil lawsuit against their abuser.
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.