As Introduced
135th General Assembly
Regular Session S. B. No. 289
2023-2024
Senator Antonio
Cosponsors: Senators Hicks-Hudson, Smith, DeMora, Craig, Kunze
A BILL
To amend sections 2901.13 and 2933.82 and to enact 1
section 2305.119 of the Revised Code to 2
eliminate the period of limitation for the 3
criminal prosecution of a person for rape and 4
for a civil action brought by a victim of 5
conduct that would constitute rape. 6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 2901.13 and 2933.82 be amended 7
and section 2305.119 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as 8
follows: 9
Sec. 2305.119. Notwithstanding any other section of the 10
Revised Code to the contrary, there is no period of limitations 11
for a civil action brought by a victim of conduct that would 12
constitute a violation of section 2907.02 of the Revised Code or 13
conduct that would constitute conspiracy to commit, complicity 14
in committing, or attempting to commit a violation of section 15
2907.02 of the Revised Code against the person who committed 16
that conduct. 17
Sec. 2901.13. (A)(1) Except as provided in division (A) 18
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(2), (3), (4), or (5) of this section or as otherwise provided 19
in this section, a prosecution shall be barred unless it is 20
commenced within the following periods after an offense is 21
committed: 22
(a) For a felony, six years; 23
(b) For a misdemeanor other than a minor misdemeanor, two 24
years; 25
(c) For a minor misdemeanor, six months. 26
(2) There is no period of limitation for the prosecution 27
of a any of the following offenses: 28
(a) A violation of section 2903.01 or , 2903.02, or 29
2907.02 of the Revised Code or for the prosecution of a ; 30
(b) A conspiracy to commit, attempt to commit, or 31
complicity in committing a violation of section 2903.01 or , 32
2903.02, or 2907.02 of the Revised Code. 33
(3) Except as otherwise provided in divisions (B) to (J) 34
of this section, a prosecution of any of the following offenses 35
shall be barred unless it is commenced within twenty years after 36
the offense is committed: 37
(a) A violation of section 2903.03, 2903.04, 2905.01, 38
2905.32, 2907.04, 2907.05, 2907.21, 2909.02, 2909.22, 2909.23, 39
2909.24, 2909.26, 2909.27, 2909.28, 2909.29, 2911.01, 2911.02, 40
2911.11, 2911.12, or 2917.02 of the Revised Code, a violation of 41
section 2903.11 or 2903.12 of the Revised Code if the victim is 42
a peace officer, a violation of section 2903.13 of the Revised 43
Code that is a felony, or a violation of former section 2907.12 44
of the Revised Code; 45
(b) A conspiracy to commit, attempt to commit, or 46
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complicity in committing a violation set forth in division (A) 47
(3)(a) of this section. 48
(4) Except as otherwise provided in divisions (D) to (L) 49
of this section, a prosecution of a violation of section 2907.02 50
or 2907.03 of the Revised Code or a conspiracy to commit, 51
attempt to commit, or complicity in committing a violation of 52
either that section shall be barred unless it is commenced 53
within twenty-five years after the offense is committed. 54
(5)(a) Except as otherwise provided in divisions (A)(5)(b) 55
and (E) to (I) of this section, a prosecution of a violation of 56
section 2907.13 of the Revised Code shall be barred unless it is 57
commenced within five years after the offense is committed. 58
(b) Prosecution that would otherwise be barred under 59
division (A)(5)(a) of this section may be commenced within five 60
years after the date of the discovery of the offense by either 61
an aggrieved person or the aggrieved person's legal 62
representative who is not a party to the offense. 63
(c) As used in division (B)(5)(b) of this section, 64
"aggrieved person" includes any of the following individuals 65
with regard to a violation of section 2907.13 of the Revised 66
Code: 67
(i) A patient who was the victim of the violation; 68
(ii) The spouse or surviving spouse of a patient who was 69
the victim of the violation; 70
(iii) Any child born as a result of the violation. 71
(B)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(2) of 72
this section, if the period of limitation provided in division 73
(A)(1) or (3) of this section has expired, prosecution shall be 74
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commenced for an offense of which an element is fraud or breach 75
of a fiduciary duty, within one year after discovery of the 76
offense either by an aggrieved person, or by the aggrieved 77
person's legal representative who is not a party to the offense. 78
(2) If the period of limitation provided in division (A) 79
(1) or (3) of this section has expired, prosecution for a 80
violation of section 2913.49 of the Revised Code shall be 81
commenced within five years after discovery of the offense 82
either by an aggrieved person or the aggrieved person's legal 83
representative who is not a party to the offense. 84
(C)(1) If the period of limitation provided in division 85
(A)(1) or (3) of this section has expired, prosecution shall be 86
commenced for the following offenses during the following 87
specified periods of time: 88
(a) For an offense involving misconduct in office by a 89
public servant, at any time while the accused remains a public 90
servant, or within two years thereafter; 91
(b) For an offense by a person who is not a public servant 92
but whose offense is directly related to the misconduct in 93
office of a public servant, at any time while that public 94
servant remains a public servant, or within two years 95
thereafter. 96
(2) As used in this division: 97
(a) An "offense is directly related to the misconduct in 98
office of a public servant" includes, but is not limited to, a 99
violation of section 101.71, 101.91, 121.61 or 2921.13, division 100
(F) or (H) of section 102.03, division (A) of section 2921.02, 101
division (A) or (B) of section 2921.43, or division (F) or (G) 102
of section 3517.13 of the Revised Code, that is directly related 103
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to an offense involving misconduct in office of a public 104
servant. 105
(b) "Public servant" has the same meaning as in section 106
2921.01 of the Revised Code. 107
(D)(1) If a DNA record made in connection with the 108
criminal investigation of the commission of a violation of 109
section 2907.02 or 2907.03 of the Revised Code is determined to 110
match another DNA record that is of an identifiable person and 111
if the time of the determination is later than twenty-five years 112
after the offense is committed, prosecution of that person for a 113
violation of the that section may be commenced within five years 114
after the determination is complete. 115
(2) If a DNA record made in connection with the criminal 116
investigation of the commission of a violation of section 117
2907.02 or 2907.03 of the Revised Code is determined to match 118
another DNA record that is of an identifiable person and if the 119
time of the determination is within twenty-five years after the 120
offense is committed, prosecution of that person for a violation 121
of the that section may be commenced within the longer of 122
twenty-five years after the offense is committed or five years 123
after the determination is complete. 124
(3) As used in this division, "DNA record" has the same 125
meaning as in section 109.573 of the Revised Code. 126
(E) An offense is committed when every element of the 127
offense occurs. In the case of an offense of which an element is 128
a continuing course of conduct, the period of limitation does 129
not begin to run until such course of conduct or the accused's 130
accountability for it terminates, whichever occurs first. 131
(F) A prosecution is commenced on the date an indictment 132
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is returned or an information filed, or on the date a lawful 133
arrest without a warrant is made, or on the date a warrant, 134
summons, citation, or other process is issued, whichever occurs 135
first. A prosecution is not commenced by the return of an 136
indictment or the filing of an information unless reasonable 137
diligence is exercised to issue and execute process on the same. 138
A prosecution is not commenced upon issuance of a warrant, 139
summons, citation, or other process, unless reasonable diligence 140
is exercised to execute the same. 141
(G) The period of limitation shall not run during any time 142
when the corpus delicti remains undiscovered. 143
(H) The period of limitation shall not run during any time 144
when the accused purposely avoids prosecution. Proof that the 145
accused departed this state or concealed the accused's identity 146
or whereabouts is prima-facie evidence of the accused's purpose 147
to avoid prosecution. 148
(I) The period of limitation shall not run during any time 149
a prosecution against the accused based on the same conduct is 150
pending in this state, even though the indictment, information, 151
or process that commenced the prosecution is quashed or the 152
proceedings on the indictment, information, or process are set 153
aside or reversed on appeal. 154
(J) The period of limitation for a violation of any 155
provision of Title XXIX of the Revised Code that involves a 156
physical or mental wound, injury, disability, or condition of a 157
nature that reasonably indicates abuse or neglect of a child 158
under eighteen years of age or of a child with a developmental 159
disability or physical impairment under twenty-one years of age 160
shall not begin to run until either of the following occurs: 161
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(1) The victim of the offense reaches the age of majority. 162
(2) A public children services agency, or a municipal or 163
county peace officer that is not the parent or guardian of the 164
child, in the county in which the child resides or in which the 165
abuse or neglect is occurring or has occurred has been notified 166
that abuse or neglect is known, suspected, or believed to have 167
occurred. 168
(K) As used in this section, "peace officer" has the same 169
meaning as in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code. 170
(L)(1) The amendments to divisions (A) and (D) of this 171
section that took effect on July 16, 2015, apply to a violation 172
of section 2907.02 or 2907.03 of the Revised Code committed on 173
and after July 16, 2015, and apply to a violation of either of 174
those sections committed prior to July 16, 2015, if prosecution 175
for that violation was not barred under this section as it 176
existed on the day prior to July 16, 2015. 177
(2) The amendment to division (A)(2) of this section that 178
takes effect on the effective date of this amendment April 4, 179
2023, applies to a conspiracy to commit, attempt to commit, or 180
complicity in committing a violation of section 2903.01 or 181
2903.02 of the Revised Code if the conspiracy, attempt, or 182
complicity is committed on or after the effective date of this 183
amendment April 4, 2023, and applies to a conspiracy to commit, 184
attempt to commit, or complicity in committing a violation of 185
either of those sections if the conspiracy, attempt, or 186
complicity was committed prior to that effective date April 4, 187
2023, and prosecution for that conspiracy, attempt, or 188
complicity was not barred under this section as it existed on 189
the day prior to that effective date April 4, 2023. 190
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Sec. 2933.82. (A) As used in this section: 191
(1)(a) "Biological evidence" means any of the following: 192
(i) The contents of a sexual assault examination kit; 193
(ii) Any item that contains blood, semen, hair, saliva, 194
skin tissue, fingernail scrapings, bone, bodily fluids, or any 195
other identifiable biological material that was collected as 196
part of a criminal investigation or delinquent child 197
investigation and that reasonably may be used to incriminate or 198
exculpate any person for an offense or delinquent act. 199
(b) The definition of "biological evidence" set forth in 200
division (A)(1)(a) of this section applies whether the material 201
in question is cataloged separately, such as on a slide or swab 202
or in a test tube, or is present on other evidence, including, 203
but not limited to, clothing, ligatures, bedding or other 204
household material, drinking cups or containers, or cigarettes. 205
(2) "Biological material" has the same meaning as in 206
section 2953.71 of the Revised Code. 207
(3) "DNA," "DNA analysis," "DNA database," "DNA record," 208
and "DNA specimen" have the same meanings as in section 109.573 209
of the Revised Code. 210
(4) "Prosecutor" has the same meaning as in section 211
2935.01 of the Revised Code. 212
(5) "Governmental evidence-retention entity" means all of 213
the following: 214
(a) Any law enforcement agency, prosecutor's office, 215
court, public hospital, crime laboratory, or other governmental 216
or public entity or individual within this state that is charged 217
with the collection, storage, or retrieval of biological 218
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evidence;