Marr proposes to lift statute of limitations for sex crimes against children

OLYMPIA — The damage from sex crimes against children can last a lifetime.

Sen. Chris Marr, D-Spokane, thinks the statute of limitations for such heinous acts should last just as long.

“No one in our society is more vulnerable than a child,” Marr said. “We need to protect children to the full extent of the law, for as long as the law can apply.”

Marr has proposed Senate Bill 5817 to lift the statute of limitations on sex crimes against children under the age of 18. The only other crimes for which there are no statutes of limitation are murder, homicide by abuse, arson that results in death, vehicular homicide, vehicular assault that results in death and hit-and-run injury that results in death. Under current law, for example, a rape of a child under 14 could only be prosecuted for up to10 years after the crime’s commission.

Marr was asked to sponsor the bill by Don Brockett, a retired prosecuting attorney for Spokane County. In addition to having prosecuted such offenses during his 25 years with the county, Brockett has worked since retirement with survivors of abuse, many of whom have been unable to come forward until many years after the statute of limitations has expired. “It’s never seemed fair to me that a person could molest a child, therefore damaging them for the remainder of their lives, and yet are off home free, so to speak, after a certain artificial period of time. I think they ought to have to look over their shoulders for the rest of their lives.”

SB 5817 will be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“Sex predators don’t necessarily stop or slow down with age,” Marr said. “This won’t just punish predators for crimes of the past; it could prevent crimes against children today and tomorrow. My hope is that this legislation will act not only as a deterrent to abusers but as a reassurance to victims that justice does not have a time limit.”

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