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Help the children. Not the molesters!

Existing Law

The statutes of limitation in Washington that apply to sex crimes committed against children under 18 vary depending on the type of conduct, the age of the victim, and the age of the molester. After the applicable time period passes, there can be no prosecution of the crime.

Here is a chart prepared for a joint legislative committee in 2003 considering whether changes should be made showing the various time periods that apply and the crimes to which they apply. (Chart 1). Other states have varying statutes of limitations as shown in this chart (Chart 2).

The conduct constituting each of the crimes is set out in each particular statute. Those statutes can be found at http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw with most of the criminal laws found under Titles 9 and 9A.

Efforts were made in the 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 2007, and 2008 sessions of the legislature to change the law. The efforts resulted in no success in the 2008 session as the legislators took no action to change the law.

You can find copies of the 2008 session bills, Senate Bill 5817 and House Bill 2131 (the corresponding bill in the House) by going to http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo and entering the bill number. The underlined language is the language that is being proposed as an addition to the present law.

Federal Law

In 2003, Congress eliminated the statute of limitations for not only child abuse but also physical abuse and kidnapping regarding those crimes under Federal law. The provision of the federal code, United States Code, 18 USC §3283, says: “No statute of limitations that would otherwise preclude prosecution for an offense involving the sexual or physical abuse, or kidnaping, of a child under the age of 18 years shall preclude such prosecution during the life of the child.”