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Sen. Tim Knopp
Salem, OR – Thursday, the Oregon Senate passed a bill raising the Statute of Limitations on rape from 6 years to 12, falling short of the twenty year-limit supported by Senator Tim Knopp (R-Bend), victim advocates, the Oregon District Attorney’s Association and a bipartisan group of legislators. Following debate on HB 2317 [2], Senator Knopp introduced a referral to eliminate the State of Limitations on rape altogether.
“Victims of rape endure deep emotional trauma, often preventing them from coming forward in a timely manner,” explained Senator Tim Knopp (R-Bend). “Rape victims need the best opportunity for justice possible, and a twelve-year limit on prosecuting rape cases does not go far enough. While HB 2317 was a step in the right direction to protect and defend victims of rape, we need to give prosecutors a larger window of time to prosecute rapists, and aligning Oregon’s Statute of Limitation on rape with the majority of other states goes a long way toward showing victims we’re on their side.”
Raising the Statute of Limitations on rape in Oregon to 20 years would align Oregon’s law with 27 other states with limits ranging from 20 years to no limit. Currently, half of all states have no Statute of Limitations on rape cases.