COLORADO
Rocky Mountain News
By April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News
March 24, 2006
A bill that eliminates the statue of limitations for prosecuting felony sex crimes against children some 10 to 20 years ago is on its way to the governor.
The Senate gave House Bill 1088 its final stamp approval Friday with only one Republican casting a no vote, contending the measure could lead to the conviction of innocent people based on childhood memories of alleged sexual abuse.
"With this bill we’re saying that if the burden of proof is there, then we’ll have a tool take the perpetrator off the streets no matter when they committed the crime," said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Paula Sandoval, D-Denver. "They leave a trail of victims. This will allow those victims to come forward when they’re ready. Often it takes victims of sexual assault years to come to terms with what has happened to them."
Gov. Bill Owens said Friday that he will make a decision on whether to sign the bill into law once he has a chance to review it.