molested - advice please

[murmur71]

What is the name of your state? California

My wife was molested by her mother's boyfriend when she was between the ages of 9-12. Is there a statute of limitations? She is now 28 and would like to consider legal action of some kind against him.

 

[tsk7199]

molested

I am not absolutely sure......however......i think that there is a SOL. I was also molested but i lived in washington state.......i reported 3 years after the incident. Tried 2 years after i reported to get victims comp. and was told there was a SOL. You could call your local Victims Advocate's. If you have a YWCA in your area I have found they are a wonderful place to go for info.

 

[stephenk]

why now? when did she first realize the boyfriend molested her? I'm serious.

 

[murmur71]

re: why now

She and her older sister originally did report it. Long story short - they were told by their mother that if they went through with telling the DA the truth, they would be raised by foster parents and wouldn't see each other again. So, they lied to stay with their mother and each other. The boyfriend had a restraining order placed on him, etc. but was never prosecuted.

Many years of counseling, coping, surviving. Now here we are, and the mother is back with the boyfriend again......if you can believe that one. She obviously has issues and that is another whole story. So, we're forced to not see her anymore because of this decision. We have a 1 year old girl and there's no way we're allowing her anywhere near that environment....the boyfriend or a grandmother that would choose to live with a man that molested her daughter.

The whole thing has us pretty fired up as you can imagine and we are just talking about possibilities. One idea is to go after him now.....now that there isn't any childhood fear.

 

[CdwJava]

The SOL has almost certainly tolled.

The commencement of prosecution for even heinous sex offenses has to occur within 10 years of the offense or its report to a "responsible adult". Since she is 29, she became that responsible adult 11 years ago, so even if she somehow could argue that the original report didn't count, she's still far too late to do anything about it in criminal court.

- Carl

 

[murmur71]

Civil?

Thank you, Carl, for the information. I thought that might be the case as I was reading the Women's Rights Handbook that I found on the attorney general's website.

What about a civil case? The guy is a loser with no money that is leeching off my mother in law - so we're really not looking for a payday....it's more about justice, with a side of vengence.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[CdwJava]

Thank you, Carl, for the information. I thought that might be the case as I was reading the Women's Rights Handbook that I found on the attorney general's website.

What about a civil case? The guy is a loser with no money that is leeching off my mother in law - so we're really not looking for a payday....it's more about justice, with a side of vengence.

Thanks,
Mike

I am not so sure about the SOL for a civil suit. However, I suspect it, too, might have tolled.

And a civil case would prove expensive and may not result in the desired outcome ... and since there really IS no desired outcome, all that it would accomplish is to enrich a few lawyers at the expense of the family.

It's done, it happened a long time ago, why sacrifice life for the next couple of years in a lengthy civil case that will do nothing but squeeze everyone's bank accounts?

I understand the desire, but I would not be willing to sell my future and that of my children's to seek a little legal retribution when there is no chance of recovering that money with a win. A finding for the plaintiff would be a hollow victory.

- Carl

 

[murmur71]

Many Thanks

Carl:

I appreciate the advice. You're right, there really is no desired outcome other than this creep being behind bars - and since that isn't an option now, I'll just have to believe that he will get his - in this life or the next.

It's the mother's decision to be with him that hurts my wife the most.

Thanks again,
Mike

 

[stephenk]

that is why i asked when she realized she was molested. if she remembered the abuse during recent therapy, for instance, there is an argument the SOL has been tolled until the discovery of the event. she would have then been able to file suit against the guy.

since she has known since she was around 10 years old, the statute expired years ago.

 

[calatty]

Actually, if the offenses meet certain qualifications, the statute of limitations can be extended indefinitely under Penal Code section 803(g):
(g)(1) Notwithstanding any other limitation of time described in this chapter, a criminal complaint may be filed within one year of the date of a report to a California law enforcement agency by a person of any age alleging that he or she, while under the age of 18 years, was the victim of a crime described in Section 261, 286, 288, 288a, 288.5, 289, or 289.5.
(2) This subdivision applies only if all of the following occur:
(A) The limitation period specified in Section 800, 801, or 801.1, whichever is later, has expired.
(B) The crime involved substantial sexual conduct, as described in subdivision (b) of Section 1203.066, excluding masturbation that is not mutual.
(C) There is independent evidence that corroborates the victim's allegation. If the victim was 21 years of age or older at the time of the report, the independent evidence shall clearly and convincingly corroborate the victim's allegation.

The normal statute of limitations is 8 years. If that 8 years had not run by 1993 when section 803(g) was passed (Stogner case), then he can still be prosecuted so long as there is corroboration and "substantial sexual conduct," which pretty means more than just a touch.