Longer time limits for rape charges approved by Washington House committee

OLYMPIA – The statute of limitations for certain felony sex offenses would be extended or eliminated under a bill approved Monday by the House Public Safety Committee.

Rep. Dan Griffey, R-Allyn, said there shouldn’t be an expiration date for these crimes.

“We need to get it right,” Griffey said. “For far too many years we’ve explained away why they shouldn’t report and why an expiration date is OK.”

Although committee members generally agreed with extending reporting limits, some expressed concern with lengthening the time limit on some juvenile offenders.

Committee Chairman Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, talked of situations involving juvenile offenders who are victims themselves and are mirroring that behavior. Not all juveniles are predators, he said.

“We often talk about sex offenders as if they’re all the same,” Goodman said. “It’s very complicated.”

But he voted to send the bill to the full House.

Current law allows a victim of sexual assault who is a minor to bring charges up until they reach their 30th birthday. Adult victims have either three or 10 years to report, depending on the severity of the sexual assault.

The proposal would eliminate the statute of limitation and allow charges to be filed at any time for:

• First- or second-degree rape of a victim under 16
• Rape or molestation of a child
• First-degree sexual misconduct with a minor
• Sexual exploitation of a minor

The statute of limitations would be extended to 20 years for first- and second-degree rape of a victim who is 16 years or older. Victims of incest would have 10 years to come forward, or until their 30th birthday if they were a minor.

The statute of limitations for third-degree rape would be extended from 3 to 10 years, and its definition would be changed to require consent, rather than silence or the lack of consent.