Over 65 Years Of Combined Trial Experience

What is LA’s statute of limitations for underage sex crimes?

On Behalf of | Feb 3, 2016 | Firm News, Sex Offenses |

Statutes of limitations are extremely important because they often affect a person’s ability to file a claim or charge another individual with a crime. Of course, this also means that those who are accused of a crime should be aware of the statute of limitations for the said crime because they may not even have to worry about defending themselves. Different crimes have different statutes of limitations depending on the state, so it can be difficult to keep track of all the different statutes.

If you are familiar with the statutes in Louisiana, you may know that there is no statute of limitations for crimes punishable by life in prison or death, meaning that you can always be charged with these crimes no matter how much time has passed. What you may not know is that this is not the case for certain sex crimes in which the victim was underage. In fact, there is no set amount of time when it comes to underage victims because the statute will change depending on the victim’s age.

In Louisiana, the statute of limitations for forcible rape, carnal knowledge, sexual battery and other such sex crimes against victims who are younger than 17 years old is 10 years. However, the clock does not start until the victim turns 18. This means that if you are accused of a sex crime against a 16-year-old, the statute of limitations will be about 12 years. If you are accused of the same crime against a victim who is only 10 years old, the statute of limitations will be nearly 18 years.

If you are accused of a sex crime of any kind in Louisiana, against an underage victim or a victim who is of age, it is in your best interests to contact an attorney immediately. Louisiana takes sex crimes very seriously, and if you delay in building a case in your defense, you may be inadequately prepared to handle the case that the prosecution brings against you.

Archives