WASHINGTON -

The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia is urging the D.C. city council to eliminate the 15-year statute of limitations on sex crimes.

U.S. Attorney Ron Machen says advances in DNA have erased the need for such a law. But a bill that would wipe the statute off the books has gone nowhere since being introduced early last year.

Since at least 2004, the U.S. Attorney's Office has repeatedly asked the D.C. city council to eliminate the statute of limitations on sex crimes. The council members have listened. But other than increasing the statute from six to 15 years, they have refused to eliminate it.

Machen says the time is now and at least two city council members agree.

D.C's top prosecutor says there are many reasons to eliminate the statute of limitations in the District of Columbia. But if he could cite one example, it would be the case of Kirk Odom. He is a man wrongfully convicted in a 1981 rape who served 20 years in prison.

DNA exonerated Odom and pointed to another man -- a convicted sex offender who is out of prison and cannot be prosecuted because the crime falls outside the statute of limitations.

"We have to prove cases beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Machen in a recent interview. “It's the highest standard in law, so a statute of limitations, especially on a serious crime such as rape, I think doesn't make sense in this day and age when you have DNA and you can go back and solve these cases that happened years ago.”

The bill was introduced by Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, who told FOX 5 in a statement that reads in part, "The perpetrators of these egregious crimes are likely to offend again and therefore pose a continuing threat to society until they are apprehended. Such threats do not have an expiration date.”

Another proponent is Anita Bonds.

"I am very open to looking at the statute of limitation and perhaps even eliminating it as it relates to sexual abuse," she said.

Bonds is a member of the judiciary committee where Cheh's bill has been sitting since April of last year.

"I think on this issue of sexual abuse, there should be no limit, particularly when it comes to young people, children,” she said “I think we really have to take advantage of DNA.”

But Tommy Wells, who chairs the committee, is making no promises to move the bill. In fact, he sees few advocates for the change other than the U.S. attorney and Cheh.

"I'm not going to lose bills,” Wells said. “A bill very similar to this was in the last council session and it lost. So each bill that I take, I plan to pass. Whenever we have a hearing, you have to be strategic about.”

Although statutes of limitations have traditionally been put in place to protect defendants, Machen points out they have been eliminated in Maryland and Virginia.

If the council fails to act on the bill, you may see prosecutors instead go for arrest warrants or indictments in which the assailant is only known as John Doe and the evidence is a DNA profile.