SOUTH DAKOTA
The Daily Republic
By: KRISTI EATON, The Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS (AP) — It has taken Jolene Loetscher more than 15 years to come to terms with a rape she says she endured as a teenager in Nebraska, but according to state law at the time, she waited too long to seek punishment for the man she accuses of stealing her childhood in the back of the store where she worked.
While 23 states currently have no statute of limitations on some form of sexual assault, prosecutors in several states — including South Dakota, where Loetscher now lives — remain bound by laws that restrict the length of time they can charge someone for a sex crime.
In South Dakota, prosecutors can only charge a suspect in a rape case up to seven years after the crime was committed or until the victim is 25, whichever is longer.
Loetscher, now 33, hopes to change that with the help of her friend, South Dakota state Sen. Mark Johnston, who has introduced a bill in the state Senate that would eliminate the state’s statute of limitations for rape cases.
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