MK forum

Below is a summary I found regarding statute of limitations in Florida related to child abuse. Note that this is not a comprehensive discussion of the matter. In addition, I do not vouch for the accuracy of any information contained therein. Please note the comment that it is the laws that were in effect at the time the crime was committed that apply (at least in the criminal context). In many cases, perhaps jurisdictional and burden of proof issues would be the larger hurdles. If I recall correctly, many jurisdictions have a law against destroying relevant evidence where there is "anticipation of litigation". I'm assuming NTM legal counsel has sent correspondence to all current NTM members instructing them to preserve all emails and documents that may contain any relevant information pertaining to potential child abuse. (of course, a good attorney probably also instructed members to be quiet - perhaps that is a reason for some measure of silence. An attorney has the "fiduciary duty" to act in the best interest of that attorney's client, as long as "best interest" does not require the attorney to cross legal or ethical lines.) I am aware of situations where, when relevant evidence is destroyed, a court will instruct the jury to construe the subject matter of that evidence as not being in favor of the party responsible for the destruction. Of course, proving somebody destroyed something and the subject matter contained therein is another hurdle. [disclaimer: i may or may not be an attorney myself, but by no means should anything I write in this email be construed as legal advice]

"Are There Statutes of Limitations on Sexual Abuse Crimes in Florida?
Florida does technically have both a criminal and civil sexual abuse statutes of limitations (SOL), but the civil SOL has a rather large loopholes that can usually allow most anyone to bring up a lawsuit.

However, It is important to remember that the criminal statute of limitations that applies is the one that was in place at the time of the crime itself. So while it may have been lengthened in the time since, if the limitation ran out, it can NOT be reactivated. (Whether this is also the case for civil suits is currently being debated in many states).

Example: A man commits an act of molestation in 1965, when there was a 3 year SOL on the crime. In 1970, the legislature removes the SOL from child molestation. The man can still not be prosecuted, because the SOL had expired before the law was changed. If the law had been changed in 1968, however, he could be prosecuted.

If you are the victim of abuse, the first thing you must decide is whether you are pursuing something criminally or civilly, as the statute of limitation is usually different between the two of them.

Civil Lawsuits
In Florida, the filing of a civil claim dealing with sexual abuse or incest may be commenced at any time within:

7 years after the age of majority (any time before your 25th birthday),
4 years after you leave the dependency of the abuser (even if you are older than 25), or
4 years from the time of your discovery of both the injury and the causal relationship between the injury and the abuse.
The last provision deals with the "delayed discovery rule." Florida is one of 28 states to have such a rule, which effectively extends the statute of limitations for sexual abuse. Taking into account the unique nature of sexual abuse, the stigma associated with it, and the likelihood of "repressed memories," Florida allows the statute of limitations not to begin until the victim "either knows or reasonably should know of the wrongful act giving rise to the cause of action." This means that adults who "discover" that they were abused long ago have 4 years from such a discovery to file a claim, regardless of their age.

However, the law says it cannot be used retroactively, and there is great debate in many state legislatures about that very premise, and many lawyers are trying to challenge it. Your best bet is to contact an attorney familiar with any recent changes in the law in your jurisdiction.

Criminal Cases
For criminal cases, a prosecutor may file a charge of aggravated rape at any time, regardless of the age of the victim and with no time limitation (an aggravated rape is generally a rape that involves a weapon, more than one person, or seriously injures the victim).

Prosecution for sexual assault or abuse has a statute of limitations of four years. However, there is an exception made for DNA analysis, which allows for the prosecution of a rapist anytime within one year of the discovery of DNA evidence, even if it is discovered after the ordinary statute of limitations period ran out.

In regards to child molestation specifically, there have recently been many changes to the statute of limitations nationwide. Indeed, eleven states have completely removed the limitations for child-sex crimes in the past 10 years. But after the Supreme court ruled that retroactively changing the statute of limitations (in order to prosecute crimes from long ago) was unconstitutional, many states were forced to scrap plans to do just that (Florida was one such state). The current law only allows four years from the date of the incident, but the law is likely to change soon, as there are many bills on the floor (as of 2006) to extend it to 10 years.

What's more, Florida has an extremely large number of complicated exceptions to it's limitation rules, so you should talk to an attorney familiar with Florida law for the most up to date information.

Do I Need an Attorney?
Sexual abuse is one of the crimes that benefits the most from statutes of limitations, as often victims are too ashamed or frightened to testify before it's too late. If you are the victim of sexual abuse, a lawyer can help you by filing a lawsuit against your abuser, or by discussing with you the complicated issue of statutes of limitations within Florida. But time is of the essence, so talk to an attorney and learn your rights today."

Thank you, ThaiMK, for the summary of Florida's legal scheme. From what you've uncovered, it seems that the best bet for many, should they desire to resort to litigation, is to do so in the civil, not criminal arena. Of course, I am not an attorney licensed in the state of Florida, so only one that is, can definitively comment upon that (insert the usual disclaimers, etc., here).

However, I think I can say for many that what is so earnestly desired is NOT a day in court, but merely the past-due reporting to the authorities (e.g., local law enforcement) of those proven to be sexual predators. Whether law enforcement chooses to prosecute or is barred by statute of limitations from doing so, is not necessarily the battle many are waging here. I think we'd all love to see NTM acknowledge the sin, call it for what it was, acknowledge they had the information to deal with it in the past, and chose not to do so, and NOW, are choosing to deal with it by retroactively terminating membership status (symbolic gesture, I know), informing local law enforcement (thereby informing the communities in which any living predator now resides), reimbursing the costs of counseling for those known to have been abused, setting aside a fund to be used to pay counseling fees for those with substantiated claims of abuse, and generally, putting into place a mechanism to ensure such heavy-handed, legalistic, autocratic, dictatorial style of leadership is destroyed and never replicated, but instead become a mission organization whose zeal for the protection and preservation of its missionaries and their families matches the zeal they show in evangelizing the tribes.

To the above list, I'm sure many of my friends, colleagues, and cyber-acquaintances could add . . . .

Florida Eliminates Statute of Limitations On Child Sex Abuse Cases
Child sexual abuse victims in Florida received historic good news on May 11, 2010, when Governor Charlie Crist signed into law Florida House Bill 525 which eliminated the statute of limitations on both criminal and civil claims relating to children under the age of 16.

The new law goes into effect and applies to any claim that would not have been barred by the existing statute of limitations as of July 1, 2010.

The main opponent lobbying against the new law was the Catholic Church.

This significant change in the course of Florida law allows abused kids to hold their abusers accountable for all of the damages that they haved caused. Since the psychology of child sexual abuse many times leaves victims unable to comprehend or even remember the abuse for many years after it occurs, the new law will help eliminate the injustice inherently associated with child sexual abuse.

I am not a lawyer, but I must continue to point out that Florida laws will only apply to abuse that occurred in Florida.

Thank you, Gene. And Bravo! "New" indeed.