Here Is What Is Happening In Minnesota
Latest Action Alert

 
Civil Statute of Limitations
Discovery Rule: Yes (+ 6 years)
Limitations Period: Age 18 + 6 years
Tolling:  Yes
  • Delayed Tolling for Sexual Offenses Against Minors : Age 18 + 6 years.
    Minn. Stat. § 541.073 (2008).

  • Discovery Rule : Minnesota’s discovery statute specifies that an action: (a) must be commenced within 6 years the victim knew or had reason to know that the injury was caused by the sexual abuse, (b) the victim need not establish which act in a continuous series of sexual abuse acts caused the injury, and (c) the knowledge of a parent or guardian may not be imputed to a minor. Minn. Stat. § 541.073(a-c). The Minnesota Supreme Court held that the 6-year period provided in the delayed discovery statute began to run when victim reached majority, D.M.S. v. Barber, 645 N.W.2d 383 (Minn. 2002). The Supreme Court applied the state's discovery rule to sexual abuse cases, but rejected a "realization" definition of discovery. Blackowiak v. Kemp, 546 N.W.2d 1 (Minn. 1996).
Criminal Statute of Limitations
Limitations Period: None if DNA evidence preserved
Age 18 + 9 years without DNA evidence
Age 18 + 3 years from the date the crime is reported
Tolling: Yes
Exceptions No
  • Statute of Limitations Depending on the Nature of the Offense : If a minor when the acts occurred, the victim must bring a claim “within 9 years after the commission of the offense or, if the victim failed to report the offense within this limitation period, within 3 years after the offense was reported to law enforcement authorities.” Minn. Stat. § 628.26(e) (2008). 3 years for all other offenses. § 628.26(k).

  • Other Grounds for Tolling : However, if victim is coerced/prevented from reporting the three year limit is ignored. State v. Danielski, 374 N.W.2d 322 (Minn.App. 1985). In such situations, the incest victim must tell someone who actually brings information to proper authorities before statute runs. State v.French, 392 N.W.2d 596 (Minn.App. 1986).

  • DNA Exception : There is no statute of limitations for criminal sexual conduct in first to third-degrees if DNA evidence was preserved. § 628.26(f).
Pending Bills: Minnesota Child Victims Act (S.B. 534 & H.B. 681)

Signed by Gov!

Note: In MN legislative process a bill's identifier number reverts to the bill number of the body which passes it first.  This year our House took it up and passed it first, thus the Senate's actions will now be 'identifying' House File 681.

Minnesota Child Victims Act

Minnesota Child Victims Act Summary

Stop Shielding Sexual Predators, Provide Justice for Victims  The Minnesota Child Victims Act attacks childhood sexual abuse on several fronts. It will expose predators, protect vulnerable children, and help victims. It will make significant changes to the statutes of limitation for child sexual abuse in Minnesota:
 
     Elimination:  The Act eliminates the limitation for a victim to bring a claim. Currently a victim must bring a claim by the age of 24, and rarely are victims strong enough to come forth so soon into adulthood. Adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse may seek civil justice against the abuser as well as anyone who protected or covered up for the predator.
 
     The threat is greater than we think.  Predators do not commit a single crime against a single child. They move on to additional generations. Sometimes they infiltrate a family. On average a sexual predator commits over 300 acts on over 100 children in a lifetime.
 
     How justice has been denied.  Childhood sexual abuse is by its nature secret. The abuse is often the end result of a grooming process through which the predators pressures the victim to keep the abuse secret or carefully select victims whom the predator believes will not tell others about the abuse. The predator is usually in a position of power—parent, priest, teacher, etc.–and has power to enforce silence. It’s not until the child has gone well into adulthood is he or she able to recover strength and move out from under the shadow of the predator. By then the statute of limitations most likely has expired. This leaves the victim frustrated, weakened, and without hope.
 
     What is wrong with the current law?  The time period currently allowed by Minnesota law is so short that it ensures that most predators are not caught, and are not held accountable for their crimes. Predators have an opportunity to “run out the clock” while most victims and family’s may suffer for a lifetime.
 
The law also does not reflect current knowledge in the mental health profession, where it is widely understood that victims, with all their trauma, do not have the strength to come forth publicly with their claims until they are well into adulthood. By then, the current limitation has expired. When predators are not held accountable, they are more likely to continue to sexually abuse other children.
 
     What about criminal prosecution?  Most child molesters are not prosecuted in criminal court because their victims are too young and confused to realize they are being harmed by an abuser, and most predators can successfully silence victims through intimidation. By the time the victims are old enough and strong enough to testify in court, the criminal statute of limitations has expired, and a civil suit is the only option.
 
The Minnesota Child Victims Act, however, can be helpful in putting predators behind bars. First, it can help by exposing a predator who is still abusing within the criminal statute of limitations. Second, once a predator is exposed, other victims often come forward. Third, as civil cases proceed in the discovery process, new information that comes to light may be sufficient for prosecutors to bring indictments.


View Full Bill Text & Tracking S.B. 534
View Full Bill Text & Tracking H.F. 681



Sign the Petition to Support the Child Victims Act

Learn more about the Minnesota Child Victims Act

View Fliers (click for full-size):

View Full Bill Text & Tracking S.B. 534
View Full Bill Text & Tracking H.F. 681

Contact Your Representative

Please contact lobbyists and say: Please vote in favor of SF 534, the Minnesota Child Victims Act WITHOUT AMENDMENTS. This is a sunshine law for Minnesota's children and guarantees we will learn the identities of child predators currently hiding in Minnesota. Without it, the predators win.

Here's the registered lobbyist that are fighting us in MN:

Associations / Lobbyists Registered With Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board:

MN Religious Council 
Rev Karen Bockelman, Director
22 Snelling Ave
Duluth, MN 55812
Association Number: 3714
Lobbyists Registered
Registration
Number
Registration
Date
Termination
Date
Designated
Lobbyist
3681
3/27/1997
 
 
3852
1/15/1998
 
 
3853
Pre-1996
 
Yes
7237
3/22/2013
 
 
9865
3/22/2013
 
 
2753
3/22/2013
 
 

Sign the Petition to Support the Minnesota Child Victims Act

Key Legislators to Contact

Statute of Limitations: Contact Your Representative
Step #1: Find your 9-Digit Zip Code

Step #2: Search By 9-Digit Zip Code to find contact information for your elected representative:
Events in Minnesota
News
News Archives (Prior to April 2013)
Date Title Author Source PDF
03/28/2013 Editorial: Support the Minnesota Child Victims Act   AlbertLea Tribune
03/21/2013 Shattuck case becomes focal point in bill to aid sexual abuse victims Brian Lambert Minn Post
03/20/2013 MN Judiciary Committee passes window! Madeleine Baran Minnesota Public Radio
03/19/2013 Great op-ed on MN reform James C. Backstrom Star Tribune
03/04/2013 Donna Dunn: Support the Minnesota Child Victims Act Donna Dunn Winona Daily News
03/03/2013

Next MN Event: Wednesday, March 6th (view info)
03/01/2013

Victims Of Child Abuse Fight To Change MN's Statute Of Limitations

 CBS Minnesota
03/01/2013

Listen To Al Chelsey's interview on WCO Radio

Click to play podcast or download in iTunes (free)
02/28/2013

Ex-NFLer, sexually abused as a kid, opposes time limits on justice

 Ruben Rosario TwinCities.com
02/28/2013

Good story on SOL reform in MN!

 Mark Albert Kstp.com
02/26/2013 Actor/drama teacher charged. Lawyer: checking SOLs   Fox 9 Twin Cities
02/15/2013

View Video & Corresponding Article on Plymouth Patch website
02/13/2013 Advocates propose lifting state of limitations for sex abuse lawsuits Jeremy Olson Minneapolis Star Tribune
02/12/2013 Victims and Advocacy Organizations to Announce Support for Child Sexual Abuse Legislation in Minnesota   National Center for Victims of Crime  
Testimonies by Professor and Legal Scholar Marci Hamilton
RE: Hearing on Minnesota Senate Bill 534 and House Bill 681, Sexual abuse civil actions limitation period modification (Wednesday, March 6, 2013 - 8:15AM) 03/06/2013
State Outreach Organizations

View ALL Nationwide Outreach Organizations
Statute of Limitations: Footer
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