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Senate Votes To Extend Time For Rape Prosecution
By: Associated Press
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Update 3:43 p.m. The Ohio Senate has approved a proposal to extend the 20-year time period for prosecuting rape and sexual battery.
The bill provides an additional five years for prosecution from the time a potential suspect is identified through DNA testing.
The legislation comes as the Attorney General’s Office continues to plow through a backlog of untested rape kits, with numerous cases of DNA matches in a criminal database.
The GOP-controlled Senate voted 32-1 in favor of the bill Wednesday.
The House Judiciary Committee put off a vote on similar legislation Tuesday as opponents told lawmakers they believe the bill is unconstitutional because it creates two classes of offenders, those whose cases involve DNA evidence, and those whose cases don’t.
A Senate committee has approved a proposal to extend the 20-year statute of limitations for rape and sexual battery.
The bill provides an additional five years for prosecution from the time a potential suspect is identified through DNA testing.
The legislation comes as the Attorney General’s Office continues to plow through a backlog of untested rape kits, with numerous cases of DNA matches in a criminal database.
The Senate Criminal Justice Committee voted 9-1 in the bill’s favor Wednesday, with a vote by the full Senate expected later in the day.
The House Judiciary Committee put off a vote Tuesday as opponents told lawmakers they believe the bill is unconstitutional because it creates two classes of offenders, those whose cases involve DNA evidence, and those whose cases don’t.