House bill would give sex abuse victims two years to sue in cases too old to prosecute

GEORGIA
Florida Times-Union

ATLANTA |Adults would get two years to sue people they accuse of sexually abusing them as children even if the statute of limitations had already expired under a law pending in the Georgia Senate.

House Bill 17, the Hidden Predator Act, was one of the flurry of bills approved Friday ahead of a deadline for passing bills out the House or Senate.

The proposal from Rep. Jason Spencer, R-Woodbine, was significantly changed in the House Judiciary Committee, but according to the author, it still provides new access to the courts for those who claim to be victims.

“It’s not like we’re doing something unusual nationally because it’s a movement,” said Spencer, who noted that other states have either recently enacted similar laws or are considering doing so.

If approved by the Senate and signed into law by the governor, the bill would give victims a pair of additional opportunities to sue their alleged attackers after age 23 and the expiration of the statute of limitations.

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