Amid Cosby case, California may end statute of limitations for rape
SAN FRANCISCO -- A new push has begun in the California Legislature to make sure that sexual predators are brought to justice, no matter when they get caught.
CBS San Francisco station KPIX reported State Sen. Connie Levya introduced a bill to eliminate statutes of limitations for rape.
This issue was raised after Bill Cosby was charged with sexual assault in Pennsylvania. Other allegations against Cosby will not be prosecuted because the statute has expired.
Helen Hayes of San Anselmo is among more than 50 women who have accused Cosby of some form of sexual assault. Hayes hopes the bill passes to prevent other women from going through what she has for decades.
"If it's abolished, maybe it will save some women from being attacked," Hayes told KPIX. "You can't just hide for all those years like he did, and laugh and say 'They can't do anything to me.'"
If approved by the Senate Public Safety Committee, the bill wouldn't take effect until next year and would only apply to the crimes committed after January 1st of 2017, and for those whose current statute of limitations hasn't already expired.
