Statutes of Limitations for Sex Crimes in California
The laws regarding statutes of limitations for sex crimes have recently changed in California. Here’s what you need to know about California’s statute of limitations for sexual abuse.
California has no statute of limitations for rape as long as the offense occurred on or after January 1st, 2017. For misdemeanor and felony statutory rape, charges must be filed before 1 and 3 years after the offense occurred, respectively. In regards to child molestation, the victim generally has until their 40th birthday to file charges if the incident occurred on or after January 1st, 2015.
What Does “Statute of Limitations” Mean?
A statute of limitations is a law that prescribes the period in which a person/entity can begin legal proceedings, either civil or criminal. This period of time is usually described in terms of time since the infraction occurred. For example, the statute of limitations for damage to property in California is 3 years after the damage occurs, which means that the wronged party has 3 years after their property is damaged in which to file charges or else they will be unable to file a lawsuit.
Statutes of limitations are intended to foster prompt and fair prosecution. If people are allowed to wait many years or decades to file charges against an individual, then relevant evidence may be lost and people’s recollections of the incident will become less accurate. As such, unfair decisions will be made. Imposing time limits on prosecution helps to ensure that cases are more fair and more accurate than they otherwise would be.
Related: How to Sue for Past Sexual Abuse in California
Rape
While, as previously discussed, statutes of limitations can be beneficial to society in some regards, they can allow perpetrators to escape justice in many situations. This is particularly true for rape cases, in which victims may feel unable to come forward for years or decades after the crime occurred. It is for this reason that California has recently updated its laws regarding rape statute of limitations with SB-813. This bill, signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, states that prosecution for rape may begin at any time if the incident occurred on or after January 1st, 2017. This means that there is no longer statute of limitations for rape in California. However, if the incident occurred prior to January 1st, 2017 and the statute of limitations period has already elapsed prior to January 1st, 2017, then this law does not apply. For these cases, the statute of limitations for rape was 10 years.
Related: Difference Between Sexual Assault, Sexual Abuse, and Rape in California
Statutory rape
While the statute of limitations has been removed for rape cases and altered in other sex crime cases, the same cannot be said for statutory rape. Currently, for misdemeanor statutory rape, the statute of limitations is 1 year after the incident occurred. For felony statutory rape, the statute of limitations is 3 years. Statutory rape is a misdemeanor if the victim’s age is within 3 years of the perpetrator, and may be charged as a felony if the age gap is greater than 3 years.
Molestation
Child molestation is another area in which California law has updated its statute of limitations in order to allow victims the proper amount of time to process and feel comfortable coming forward. Prior to Assembly Bill 218, signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2019, victims of child sexual assault had until the age of 26 to file charges. Or, they had until 3 years after discovering as an adult that they had a psychological condition caused by childhood sexual abuse if this period of time extended beyond the age of 26. Now, as a result of AB-218, victims have until the age of 40 or 5 years after discovering that they have a psychological condition caused by childhood sex abuse, whichever period expires later.
FAQs About the Statutes of Limitations for Sexual Abuse in California
What are statutes of limitations?
Statutes of limitations describe the period of time in which a person can file charges after a crime.
What is the statute of limitations for rape in California?
Currently, there is no statute of limitations for rape in California, unless the statute of limitations had been reached prior to January 1st, 2017.
What is the statute of limitations for statutory rape in California?
For misdemeanor statutory rape, the statute of limitations is 1 year. For felony statutory rape, the statute of limitations is 3 years.
What is the statute of limitations for child molestation in California?
For child sex abuse, the victim has until the age of 40 or 5 years after discovering that they have a psychological condition caused by childhood sex abuse, whichever period expires first.
Why are the statutes of limitations for sexual abuse changing in California?
Lawmakers and victims alike realized that prior statutes of limitations did not provide victims with enough time to come forward. Sexual abuse commonly takes years (or decades) to process, and existing statutes of limitations, therefore, had the effect of unjustly protecting offenders.
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