The New Sexual Assault Laws in Minnesota, Part 1 - Statute of Limitations
There are three major changes in the criminal sexual conduct laws in Minnesota in 2021. These are not minor changes and can absolutely impact how cases are charged and what people may face. The three changes involve:
Statute of Limitations in Bringing Charges
Part 1 will focus in on the statute of limitations in bringing charges. See the links above for the other changes.
Statute of Limitations
Criminal sexual conduct, rape, child molestation, sex trafficking: all of these frequently fall under the criminal sexual conduct statutes in Minnesota. For many years, there were limits on how long people could go back and make allegations against another and the state could prosecute.
Simply put, there is no longer any statute of limitations for most criminal sexual charges. Somebody could reach back decades based solely on their allegations without any additional evidence.
Here in Minnesota, the statute of limitations for making claims was nine years unless the person was a child at the time. If so, they were still limited to three years from the time they first contacted the police, whichever was longer. If the police had DNA, there was no time limit. All of that has changed in 2021.
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According to the new statute,
“… indictments or complaints for violation of sections 609.322 and 609.342 to 609.344 may be found or made and filed in the proper court at any time after commission of the offense.”
Simply put, there is no longer any statute of limitations. Somebody can reach back beyond 9 years and make a claim. Actually, they could reach back decades based solely on the allegations without any additional evidence.
Before the law change, there seemed to be a balance between giving an alleged victim access to justice for a more limited period of time (almost a decade or more) versus those who would have to defend themselves against such allegations and the fear of spoliation of evidence after such a long period of time. In this new law, the Minnesota Legislature and Governor seemed to ignore that balance between those making allegations and those accused of sexual assault. Advocates claim that the change will give victims more time to process and decide matters on their own terms. This change creates the potential for enormous exposure for some and that exposure will last for the rest of their lives.
If you are facing possible exposure to criminal sexual allegations from decades ago, you need to know what this could mean to your life and your future. Make no admissions and talk to an experienced criminal defense lawyer immediately.
Jack Rice is the Founder of Jack Rice Defense. He is a former prosecutor, Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist and Minnesota criminal defense attorney. He handles serious felonies, sex crimes, and murder cases. If you are concerned about a possible charge, sit down with Jack for a free consultation.