COLUMBUS (OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer
The victims of sexual abuse were dealt a huge setback in the Ohio Statehouse on Tuesday when a controversial provision of a proposed child protection law was dropped.
The 35-year "look back" period would have let victims file suits as much as 35 years after abuse occurred for a period of one year, but the provision did not survive a subcommittee vote. Under the statute of limitations, victims of abuse have two years past their 18th birthday to sue their abusers. Instead, Senate Bill 17 allows victims to go to court to place their abusers on a registry of sexual offenders to let others know of an abuser's past.
That's a positive gesture, but it does not do enough to hold abusers and institutions that may have protected them accountable for sexual abuse committed years ago.