Assembly Passes Legislation Eliminating Statute
of Limitations For Sexual Assault Crimes

Silver: Conference Committee Should Meet Immediately To Resolve Differences With Senate Bill

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Assembly Codes Committee Chair Joseph Lentol and bill sponsor Assemblywoman Amy Paulin today announced Assembly passage of legislation to eliminate the criminal and civil statute of limitations for sexual assault. Silver called for an immediate conference committee to negotiate differences between the Assembly measure and a bill passed by the Senate that does not offer as much protection to rape victims as provided by the Assembly's bill.

Assembly bill 11283-A, sponsored by Paulin, would extend the authority to prosecute and to bring civil action for a range of sexual crimes. Under current law, once the current statute of limitations has expired, sexual assault victims are prohibited from seeking legal recourse. The bill would become effective upon being signed into law. Its provisions would apply to crimes committed before the effective date as long as the current statute of limitations had not expired.

"The Assembly is passing legislation aimed at providing victims of these heinous crimes with every possible opportunity to seek justice. I am calling for an immediate joint legislative conference committee to quickly resolve differences between the Assembly and Senate bills in an open, public process. It is important to acknowledge that in cases of such monstrous crimes, there are a host of reasons why people don't step forward and pursue their remedies immediately," said Silver (D-Manhattan).

"As a former victim of sexual assault, I will live with that night for the rest of my life. It is astonishing that there are those who would seek to limit the opportunity for myself and countless other survivors to seek justice. Pursuing rapists criminally is absolutely critical to preventing rapists from hurting others and holding them accountable. It is also important that no doors be closed for survivors of these horrible crimes to seek compensation from their attackers for their physical injuries, medical costs and pain and suffering. It is an important step in protecting our communities," said Paulin (D-Scarsdale).

Provisions of the bill would provide rape victims with a significant opportunity to seek justice in rape cases. The bill would apply to Class B felony sex crimes: first degree rape, first degree criminal sexual act (formerly called sodomy), first degree aggravated sexual abuse and first degree course of sexual conduct against a child.

Renewing a call made last week when the bill was first introduced, Lentol said the formation of a conference committee to resolve differences between the two bills was important. While the Assembly bill would eliminate both the criminal and civil statutes of limitations, Lentol said a more narrow Senate proposal (S-6524/Skelos) would only eliminate the criminal statute of limitations in these cases. Lentol noted that the Assembly, earlier this year, had passed a number of additional bills to eliminate the statute of limitations in sexual assault cases, which had not yet been acted on by the Senate, including bills to eliminate the statute of limitations in cases involving DNA and aggravated rape or child rape.

"It is paramount that the Senate and the Assembly work together in a bipartisan way to enact an effective law to protect sexual assault survivors this session," Lentol said. "An open, public conference committee is the best way to achieve that goal."

"Rape is a terrible crime of hatred and power over those who are vulnerable. There's a lifelong impact on the victims of sex predators and simply no reason for victims to be limited in their ability to bring their attackers to justice," said Assemblywoman Patricia Eddington (WF/D- Medford), chair of the Legislative Women's Caucus. "We need to send a message to rapists that they will not get a free pass just because of the passage of time. With this legislation, we are empowering women, girls and boys."

Earlier this session the Assembly had approved legislation imposing mandatory life maximum sentences for the most serious sex crimes, civil commitment to ensure the most dangerous predators could be confined even after their prison sentences and a range of other measures to empower and assist survivors and closely monitor those convicted of sex offenses should they be released after serving new, tougher sentences.

The lawmakers noted that over the past decade, New York has significantly strengthened the laws that punish sex offenders and other violent criminals and has enacted measures bolstering the control and supervision of offenders after longer prison terms are completed. Among the new laws are statutes that provide life sentences, for certain twice-convicted child sex offenders, increase penalties for statutory rape, create a new "date rape" statute that makes proving rape significantly easier and enhances the state's Sex Offender Registration Act, known as "Megan's Law."

"The Assembly Majority has worked in a bipartisan manner to enact what Governor Pataki has called 'the toughest crime laws in the country'. The legislation we are considering today continues the historic steps this state has taken. However, it is clear that more needs to be done," said Silver.