NEW HAMPSHIRE
Concord Monitor
By ALYSSA DANDREA
Monitor staff
Thursday, September 15, 2016
A state senator is drafting a bill that would eliminate the time frame sexual assault victims have to pursue legal action against their attackers.
Martha Fuller Clark, a Portsmouth Democrat, plans to sponsor legislation in the 2017 session that would remove the six-year limitation in felony cases involving adult victims, according to a statement issued Thursday.
Fuller Clark clarified by phone that she is also looking to eliminate the time restriction in child sexual abuse cases, which is longer, but, she argues, still insufficient.
The current statute gives prosecutors 22 years from the child’s 18th birthday – so until age 40 – to file sexual assault charges. Those same victims have less time to file a civil lawsuit; the state statute gives child victims until age 30 to seek damages.
“The timing of these charges shouldn’t be arbitrary,” she said of the limitations period in criminal cases. “We don’t know when an individual who has been traumatized will feel comfortable coming forward.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.