A bipartisan bill designed to give victims of sexual assault a longer window to report the crime was given a public hearing in the state Assembly Thursday.
The measure, authored by state Sen. Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, would increase the statute of limitations for most sexual assaults from six years to 10.
LeMahieu said he authored the bill in response to a female constituent who wanted to press charges after being sexually assaulted in college, but was unable to because the statute of limitations had expired.
State Sens. Julie Lassa, D-Stevens Point, and Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, also worked on the bill, which LeMahieu said will bring Wisconsin into line with other states.
“26 other states have 10 years or more for their statute of limitations … so we ran with it,” Lemahieu said when he introduced the bill in June.
The Assembly Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on the bill last Thursday with a vote on the proposal expected this week.
