Two bills designed to help victims of childhood sexual abuse seek legal action have failed in a House committee.
One bill would have overturned the statute of limitations for civil suits involving childhood sexual abuse. The other aimed to let child sex abuse victims sue organizations.
Current state law says a survivor has to file civil action within three years or before they turn 40.
Representative Peri Pourier introduced the bills. She says South Dakota law restricts survivors’ ability to seek justice through the courts.
“Why don’t we send the message that we are going to protect our children no matter who you are?” Pourier says. “And if that child, that six-year-old, that seven-year old, grows up and finally gets to a level of healing where they start remembering things, they can reach and search in the event there is an entity that is in play here. They need to be held accountable.”
Similar attempts to change state law have failed in the past.
Critics say the current statute of limitations for child sex crimes is sufficient for survivors. Justin Bell is a lobbyist for St. Joseph’s Indian School.
“Based off the statute of limitations, at some point it simply is not fair to litigate a case when a defendant has no records, it can call no witnesses to prove its case because they are likely destroyed based off of the passage of time or the perpetrator or witnesses have deceased.”
Bell says removing age limits would harm organizations like schools or churches over the actions of former members.
Francine Charbonneau supports the bills. She and her eight sisters say they were sexually abused at the St. Paul Indian Mission on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in the 1950s and 1960s.
“You know what? The state of South Dakota closed the box on us and we’re still squirming to get our voices heard. It’s kind of a dirty shame, but I can sleep at night. I wonder if they can.”
The committee rejected the two bills by deferring them to the end of the session.