Progress
Lieu/Substituted 6/21/06
The General Assembly has ended, the current status is the final status.
Details
5/30/06
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10, CHAPTER 81 OF THE DELAWARE CODE BY ENLARGING THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR SUITS FOR DAMAGES DUE TO PERSONAL INJURIES THAT WERE CAUSED BY SEXUAL ABUSE OF A CHILD BY AN ADULT.
This Bill provides victims of childhood sexual abuse longer time in which to sue for civil damages for childhood sexual abuse as a deterrent to perpetrators of these crimes and those who shelter them. Institutions will exercise greater caution when placing persons in positions of trust and authority over children when the consequence for failing to do so may be a potential lawsuit. Perpetrators of sexual exploitation of young teens will find the possibility of the loss of large sums of money a deterrent to such behavior.
This Bill expands the scope of the applicable statute of limitations in Delaware from two (2) years to six (6) years and makes clear the tolling of the statute starts when the victim, as an adult, recovers memory of the abuse or learns that the abuse is the cause of emotional or physical difficulties he or she has been experiencing.
The Sections of the Delaware Code enumerated in the Act cover the following crimes:
assault (11 Del. C. §§ 611, 612, 613),
assault by abuse or neglect (11 Del. C. § 615),
sexual harassment (11 Del. C. § 763),
indecent exposure (11 Del. C. §§ 764, 765),
unlawful sexual contact (11 Del. C. §§ 767, 768, 769),
rape (11 Del. C. §§ 770, 771, 772, 773),
sexual extortion (11 Del. C. § 776),
continuous sexual abuse of a child (11 Del. C. § 778),
dangerous crime against a child (11 Del. C. § 779),
unlawful dealing with a child (11 Del. C. § 1106),
sexual exploitation of a child (11 Del. C. § 1108),
sexual solicitation of a child (11 Del. C. § 1112A).
N/A
N/A
Not Required
N/A
N/A
Amendments
Committee Reports
Roll Calls
Actions History
Legislation Detail Feeds
Roll Call Details
Committee Report Details
Favorable:
On its Merits:
Unfavorable: