California scraps statutes of limitations for rape amid Bill Cosby case
California has voted to get rid of the 10-year statute of limitations on filing rape charges, but will not apply to women who accused Bill Cosby.
California has voted to get rid of the 10-year statute of limitations on filing rape and rape-related charges.
On Wendesday, Governor Jerry Brown approved the legislation, which will go into force next year and will eliminate the statute of limitations for certain future rape and child molestation cases.
While the decision comes after the highly publicized rape and sexual assault accusations made against comedian Bill Cosby, it will not apply to the women who have come forward to accuse Cosby of assaulting them, as the law will not reopen cases where the statute of limitations has already passed.
The bill was sent on to the governor without a single dissenting vote, a feat that State Senator Connie Leyva said was thanks to advocates who lobbied politicians and who “kept the fight alive for the countless rape victims that have already spoken up and also those that have yet to come forward.”
She went on to say in a statement that the bill “tells every rape and sexual assault victim in California that they matter and that, regardless of when they are ready to come forward, they will always have an opportunity to seek justice in a court of law.”
“Rapists should never be able to evade legal consequences simply because an arbitrary time limit has expired.”
