Bill to restart clock on child sexual abuse cases heading to governor’s desk

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- A bill to restart the clock on child sexual abuse cases is heading to Governor Abigail Spanberger's desk. Advocates say it will give survivors another chance to hold their offenders accountable.

In Virginia, the civil statute of limitations on child sexual abuse cases runs out 20 years after a survivor is no longer a minor. But what if crucial evidence doesn't come out until after that? House Bill 1020 gives survivors another chance to have their day in court.

The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) is the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the nation. It helped draft HB1020, along with sponsors Sen. Barbara Favola and Del. Atoosa Reaser.

Stefan Turkheimer is the Vice President of Public Policy for RAINN. He worked with the legislators and survivors on the bill's language.

"The survivors who have talked to us about the bill, it really gives them back something that they had lost," Turkheimer said.

Currently, a survivor of child sex abuse typically has 20 years after they turn 18 to pursue legal action. The same applies to individuals that were incapacitated at the time of the abuse- they have 20 years after they are no longer incapacitated.

"There's a real problem with survivors when they're trying to seek justice, especially in the civil justice system," Turkheimer said. "Which is that the time to file their case runs out before they have all the information necessary."

This bill would change the state code, so that when new evidence comes out, like a DNA match or confession, the 20 years starts again.

"For survivors that come to us and survivors who call the hotline, a lot of people actually call the hotline not just right after a sexual assault, but actually years later when they find out who did it," Turkheimer said. "And a lot of times it's very traumatic just to learn that you can no longer bring a case forward."

The bill has passed both the Senate and House.

Reaser provided a statement saying, in part, "[the bill] strengthens accountability, discourages institutions from concealing abuse until time limits expire, and ensures survivors have a meaningful opportunity to seek justice."

Favola shared a similar statement:

"This bill enables individuals who were sexually assaulted as children or when they were in a state of incapacity to seek justice. Sexual assault predators almost always have a long history of abusing vulnerable individuals. It is high time that we are providing opportunities to hold these predators accountable."

"There's a lot of these people who have been told that they're out of time, that they don't have an opportunity to go forward, that they can't go to court, that they can never tell the story of what happened to them in a place where someone has an opportunity to help fix it," Turkheimer said. "So someone's going to see this and find out that they can. And that's incredible."

Turkheimer said he has no reason to doubt Gov. Abigail Spanberger will sign the bill into law.