Child Abuse Cases Should Have Extended Statutes of Limitations (From Child Abuse: Opposing Viewpoints, P 212-216, 1994, David Bender and Bruno Leone, eds. -- See NCJ-159823)

• NCJ Number: 159848
• Author(s): K E Rodgers
• Date Published: 1994
• Length: 5 pages
• Sale Source: Greenhaven Press
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Opposing Viewpoints Series

Annotation

In child abuse cases, statutes of limitations should begin to run when victims discover they were abused or determine the abuse caused damage, even if the discovery occurs decades after the abuse.

Abstract

In the case of child abuse, some people do not remember being abused until years after statutes of limitations have run out. Statutes of limitations are imposed on both civil and criminal actions to assist courts in their pursuit of the truth. Numerous courts have addressed policy concerns in limiting the time to bring certain tort claims, namely claims related to the intentional infliction of emotional harm. Statutes of limitations for torts ordinarily require that a personal injury action be brought within a specified period after the cause of action has accrued, usually from 1 to 6 years. In the case of incest, the preferred rule is that statutes of limitations begin running at the date of discovery of the injury rather than at the date of the actual injury. Since incest is sometimes not discovered until adulthood, and often during the course of psychotherapy, the date of discovery determination should logically be in the hands of a person familiar with the victim's psychological conditions. The role of psychiatric experts in assessing the adult victim's mental condition and in substantiating late discovery of abuse is discussed.