Delaware General Assembly

LOT 7/1/06

The General Assembly has ended, the current status is the final status.

HB 450

6/21/06

Lavelle

Rep. Valihura
Sen. Peterson, Copeland

Reps. Spence, Lee, Atkins, Buckworth, Carey, Cathcart, Ewing, Hocker, Hudson, Lofink, Maier, Miro, Outten, Stone, Ulbrich, Wagner
Sen. Blevins, Bunting, Sokola, Sorenson, Cloutier, Connor, F Simpson

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 twenty-five (25) years of the date the victim attains the age of majority, which currently is 18 years of age. The Sections of the Delaware Code enumerated in the Act cover the following crimes: 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), sexual exploitation of a child (11 Del. C. § 1108), sexual solicitation of a child (11 Del. C. § 1112A). This Bill waives the sovereign immunity for the State of Delaware for civil actions based on childhood sexual abuse and eliminates any qualified immunity of political subdivisions of the State, including school districts, in such cases.

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