• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Dann Law Firm | Marc Dann Law Firm

Foreclosure Defense | Ohio | Chicago | New Jersey | Oregon | New York

Cleveland Office
216-373-0539
Cincinnati Office
513-645-3488
Columbus Office
877-475-8100
NY/NJ Office
201-355-3440
  • Lender Accountability
  • Foreclosure Defense
    • OH Sheriff Sale
  • Other Practice Areas
    • Loan Modification
    • Bankruptcy
      • Bankruptcy FAQs
      • Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
      • Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
    • Consumer Protection
    • Student Loan Debt
  • Attorneys & Staff
    • Attorney Marc Dann
    • Of Counsel
    • Managing Partners
    • DannLaw Staff
  • About
  • Law Blog
    • Attorney at Law Magazine
    • DannLaw in the News
  • Contact Us
  • CFPB Database
    • DannLaw Consumer Watch Database and Forum
    • Complaint Database
    • Hall of Shame

Attorney Marc Dann calls on General Assembly to change statute of limitations for rape, sexual abuse

June 10, 2019 By Marc Dann

Former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann recently asked the members of the Ohio General Assembly to eliminate the criminal statute of limitations for rape and extend the civil statute of limitations for sexual abuse. Atty. Dann who led efforts to strengthen the state’s rape, sexual abuse, and sexual predator laws as both a member of the Ohio Senate and Attorney General cited the sexual abuse scandals that have roiled the Catholic Church, U.S. Gymnastics, Penn State, and the Ohio State University as reasons why reform is needed now more than ever.

Following is the letter he sent to Speaker of the House Larry Householder, Senate President Larry Obhoff, and all members of the GA in early June:

June 3, 2019

President Larry Obhoff

Senate Building

1 Capital Square 2nd Floor

Columbus OH 43215

Speaker Larry Householder

77 S.High St. 14th Floor

Columbus OH 43215

*Sent via electronic mail

 

         Re:            Criminal and Civil Statutes of Limitations for Rape

 

Dear Mr. President and Mr. Speaker:

I write to you today to express my support for legislation that will eliminate the criminal statute of limitations for rape in the state of Ohio. Like the current and former attorneys general who registered their support for this proposal earlier this week, I devoted much of my time as Ohio’s AG to ensuring that law enforcement had the resources needed to pursue, prosecute, and incarcerate offenders.

While I applaud the AGs for their advocacy on this important issue, anyone who truly cares about the victims of this heinous crime knows we must do more than erase the criminal SOL. We must also extend the civil statute of limitations to 20 years so that victims have the time they need to hold their rapists and their rapists’ enablers accountable for the pain and suffering they have caused.

I first learned about the terrible physical and psychological pain victims endure in 2005 when I led the effort to pass Senate Bill 17 while serving as the Ranking Member of the Senate Civil Justice Committee. After hearing harrowing testimony from women and men who had been sexually abused as children, both the Committee and the Senate unanimously passed the bill which contained a provision that extended the civil SOL to 17 years.

Unfortunately, in one of the ugliest and most destructive displays of the negative impact big money donors can exert in the state’s pervasive “pay-to-play” culture, the nation’s multi-billion-dollar insurance companies placed the pursuit of profits ahead of the interests of victims and succeeded in stripping the civil SOL extension from SB 17 when it reached the House.

Today, 14 years after that shameful act of legislative malfeasance, the need to significantly extend the civil SOL in more urgent than ever before. A fact underscored by the sexual abuse scandals that have roiled the Catholic Church, U.S. Gymnastics, Penn State, and the Ohio State University. In each of these cases as well as many others, powerful officials and administrators looked the other way as innocent boys and girls were abused. And, in many of these cases those boys and girls, who often did not come forward until years after they were assaulted, were left with little opportunity to obtain the justice and just compensation they deserved because the civil stature of limitations had run out. In effect, they have all been victimized twice: by their rapists/abusers and by a political system held captive by the insurance industry and institutions that vigorously oppose legislation that would hold them accountable.

Fortunately, Representatives Kristen Boggs and Tavia Golonski are taking up the work I and my Senate colleagues of both parties began in the Senate in 2005. They have promised to introduce a bill that will address both the criminal and civil statutes of limitations. Extends the civil SOL to 20 years and tolling it until a child victim turns 18 years of age will represent a monumental step for victims and impose much-needed accountability for those who committed monstrous acts and those who knew what was happening but chose to look away.

It is my sincere hope that the current and former AGs who registered their support for eliminating the criminal SOL will join me in advocating for victims past, present, and future.

Sincerely,

Marc Dann

Filed Under: In the News

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • State files Brief in PUA case, DannLaw will respond soon
  • A message from Marc Dann about Bowling v. DeWine…
  • DannLaw: CFPB/Wells settlement is welcome, but big bank will continue to abuse homeowners
  • Marc Dann: Observations about and candidate recommendations for the 2022 General Election
  • DannLaw Covid 19 Update 16–and hopefully our last

Categories

  • Associate Attorney
  • Bankruptcy
  • CFPB
  • Class Action Lawsuit
  • Consumer Fraud
  • Covid-19
  • Data Breach
  • Disability Rights
  • Evcitions
  • Foreclosure
  • Founding Partner
  • Identity Theft
  • In the News
  • Managing Partner
  • Mortgage Fraud
  • Of Counsel
  • Payroll Protection Program
  • private student loans
  • Property seizure
  • PUA case
  • RESPA
  • SCOTUS
  • Sheriff Sale
  • Staff Member
  • student loan debt
  • Supplemental unemployment benefits
  • The Con

Footer

Connect With Dann Law

DannLaw Cleveland OH

15000 Madison Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44107
Phone: 216-373-0539 or toll-free 877-475-8100

Click here for driving directions

DannLaw Columbus OH

875 N. High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Phone: Toll-free 877-475-8100

Click here for driving directions

DannLaw Cincinnati OH

220 Mill Street
Milford, Ohio 45150
Office hours by appointment in Hyde Park & Mason
Phone: 513-645-3488 or toll-free 877-475-8100

Click here for driving directions

DannLaw New York/New Jersey

1520 Highway 130, Suite 101
North Brunswick, New Jersey 08902
201-355-3440 or toll-free 877-475-8100

Click here for driving directions

DannLaw is a Debt Relief Agency. We help people file for relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

This site is an advertisement: Legal Disclaimer. The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. We invite you to contact us and welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send any confidential information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established.

Privacy Policy
Web Design Agency - JSMT Media