A bill that would remove the time limit on filing criminal charges in child sex abuse cases has cleared its first hurdle in the Iowa Senate. Under current state law, criminal charges must be filed before the victim turns 28. Studies show many victims never reveal they’ve been abused until much later in life. Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen of Des Moines has been pushing for this change for years.
The Senate passed the bill last year, but it stalled in the Iowa House. Republican Representative Steven Holt of Denison is the new chairman of the committee that will review the bill, if passed the senate. Holt says he’s “looking very favorably” at the concept, but some time limit for filing CRIMINAL charges may be warranted.
There’s a separate bill in the SENATE that would remove the time limit for adults to file CIVIL lawsuits seeking monetary damages for sex abuse that occurred when they were under the age of 18.
