A bill to eliminate the statute of limitations for some sex crimes died in the General Assembly this past session. But it may still have a future in the legislature.
Prosecuting most sex crimes in Indiana generally has to happen within five years of the crime being committed. If it’s a crime against a child, the statute of limitations runs until the victim turns 31.
A 2024 bill, SB 151, originally eliminated that time constraint for all sex crimes, but was narrowed in the Senate just to rape and child molestation.
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The measure never got a hearing in the House. And House Courts and Criminal Code Committee Chair Wendy McNamara (R-Evansville) said that’s because such a change shouldn’t happen in a short session.
“When you’re talking about removing statute of limitations, there are a lot of mechanisms in the criminal justice system that I think just need to have a deeper conversation of what that looks like,” McNamara said.
McNamara said she’s “absolutely” open to something like a study committee on the issue.
Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.