Two new laws signed by Lt. Governor Brian Calley give underage victims of sexual assault will not have more time to either file suit or report the incidents to police.
The law extends the station of limitation in sexual assault cases, bringing it to 15 years in criminal cases and 10 years in civil cases. The bills also allow for a civil action, if criminal proceedings have not been brought.
Calley signed Public Acts 180 and 181 of 2018 Tuesday.
Under the new laws, if the victim is under the age of 18 at the time of the crime, an indictment can be filed within 15 years of the crime or by the survivors 28th birthday, whichever occurs later.
A civil case must be brought before the survivor is 28-years-old or three years after the victim discovers they have been the victim of sexual assault.
Outside of the statute of limitations, the new laws allow all victims of sexual assault after December 31, 1996 the chance to file civil charges, if the defendant was in a position of authority or engaged in unethical or unacceptable medical treatment of the victim.
However, any action needs to be filed within 90 days of the laws taking effect.
The bills were introduced in the state legislature in the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal and was championed by Rachael Denhollander.
