Ten years.  That’s the current statute of limitations on most serious sexual offenses – including rape.  Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Sally Lieber says that’s not long enough. The Democrat wants to remove the limits altogether:

 “We know that with the psychological trauma of rape, many victims wait longer than the statute of limitations to come forward and report these crimes.  Rape is one of the most under-reported crimes and law enforcement estimates that only about 39% of rapes are reported.”

Lieber’s bill would also eliminate the statute of limitations on other sex crimes, including sodomy and child molestation.  The legislation would apply only to incidents that happened after the bill took effect. Some criminal defense lawyers oppose the proposed change.  They say if decades-old rape cases are prosecuted, that could increase the chance of an unfair trial.