Courts hearing civil rights claims brought under 42 U.S.C.S. § 1983 and §1985 will apply the underlying state’s statute of limitations for personal injury actions to CSA related claims.  Owens v. Okure, 488 U.S. 235 (U.S. 1989); Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261 (U.S. 1985); Donoghue v. County of Orange, 848 F.2d 926 (9th Cir.1987). Claims brought under 42 U.S.C.S. § 1986 are subject to the 1 year SOL it contains.   42 U.S.C.S. § 1986; Burnett v. Grattan, 468 U.S. 42 (U.S. 1984).
In order for federal law to apply to CSA related crimes, the abuse must have occurred in multiple states, or on federal lands. 18 U.S.C.S. §7.See,
18 U.S.C. § 2241– Aggravated sexual abuse
18 U.S.C. § 2242– Sexual abuse
18 U.S.C. § 2243– Sexual abuse of a minor or ward
18 U.S.C. § 2244– Abusive sexual contact

2015 Pending Legislation

Extending Justice for Sex Crime Victims Act would change SOL  to +10 years from latter of majority (Age 28) or discovery.

A BILL

To extend the civil statute of limitations for victims of Federal sex offenses.

  1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
  2. tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
  3. SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  4. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Extending Justice for
  5. Sex Crime Victims Act of 2016’’.
  6. SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR
  7. CIVIL REMEDY FOR PERSONAL INJURIES.
  8. Part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended—
  9. (1) in section 1595(c)—

2

  1. (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1),
  2. by striking ‘‘not later than the later of’’; and
  3. (B) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘after the
  4. cause of action arose’’ and inserting the fol-
  5. lowing: ‘‘after the date upon which the plaintiff
  6. discovers the later of—
  7. ‘‘(A) the violation that forms the basis for
  8. the claim; or
  9. ‘‘(B) the injury that forms the basis for
  10. the claim; or’’; and
  11. (2) in section 2255(b), by striking ‘‘filed within
  12. 10 years’’ and all that follows through the end and
  13. inserting the following: ‘‘filed—
  14. ‘‘(1) not later than 10 years after the date upon
  15. which the plaintiff discovers the later of—
  16. ‘‘(A) the violation that forms the basis for
  17. the claim; or
  18. ‘‘(B) the injury that forms the basis for
  19. the claim; or
  20. ‘‘(2) in the case of a person under a legal dis-
  21. ability, not later than 10 years after the disability
  22. ends.’’.

View as PDF: Extending Justice for Sex Crime Victims Act (Bill Text)
Source: http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=572030AB-FEFB-488E-886A-E761AD51BADD&SK=A3C00F8C868B468BC29ACD8646563A78 (Bill Text); http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=AFEDF1F7-D9E7-4FFF-9DE2-CB9648EB7783 (Press Release)

View Press Release.

View SOL Snapshot

Resources: 

Charles Doyle, Statutes of Limitation in Federal Criminal Cases: An Overview, Senior Specialist in American Public Law, https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL31253.pdf (Oct. 1, 2012)

Professor Marci A. Hamilton Testimony

Angie Jackson, 94-year-old man awaits extradition to Wyoming for decades-old child sex assault cases, MLive

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2014/09/94-year-old_man_awaits_extradi.html 94-year-old…