Several victims of child sex abuse, now adults, have finally seen their abuser of 40 years ago brought to justice. A 75-year-old man from Payson, Utah has been charged with abusing numerous victims between the ages of five and 10 between 1977 and 1989.
Detectives worked tirelessly to locate and speak with the man's many victims.
Once in custody, the man commented simply "If they said I did it, I did it. Why would they lie?" He confessed to abusing numerous children and is in custody without bail. Derick Fox, "If they said I did it, I did it': Utah man arrested for alleged child sex abuse", www.abc4.com (Jun. 11, 2024).
Commentary and Checklist
Child victims often do not report, and may not realize until adulthood, that they were victims of criminal behavior.
In recognition of this, the criminal statutes in many states have no time limit – statute of limitations – within which to charge an accused.
Also, in recognition of delayed reporting, the laws in many states allow child victims to sue their abusers in civil court for damages after they reach adulthood. Other states have no civil statute of limitations, which means victims are never time-barred from suing. Still others have "look back" laws, which are enacted after victims were previously time-barred from suing under the state's law. These "look back" laws allow victims a new period of time within which to bring their civil claims.
Here are a few examples of state laws, which can vary widely in their terms:
- In Arkansas, civil claims must be filed within three years of the discovery of childhood sexual abuse.
- In California, a victim must sue within 22 years of their 18th birthday, or within five years of discovery, whichever date is later.
- In Colorado, a civil action can be brought at any time on a cause of action accruing on or after January 01, 2022. Victims can sue on a cause of action accruing before that date, if the applicable statute of limitations, as it existed before that date, has not yet expired.?
- In Iowa, if a victim who is 18 or older discovers an "injury because of childhood sexual abuse", a civil action for damages must be brought within four years of the discovery "of both the injury and the causal relationship between the injury and the sexual abuse."
- In Maine, "civil actions for sexual acts toward minors may be commenced at any time."
https://www.ncsl.org/human-services/state-civil-statutes-of-limitations-in-child-sexual-abuse-cases
