Can the Lege protect all the children this session? Credit: Photo by Richard Whittaker

It was inevitable that, in the quest to fix the horrors of the Texas Youth Commission, the Legislature wasn’t going to have time to take up every bill that it had on the books. It seems that two bills intended to give other victims of sexual abuse a certain degree of redress have fallen through the cracks.

Senate Bill 97 in the Senate and its House partner bill House Bill 204 remove the statute on limitations on felony sexual assault, felony aggravated sexual assault, and felony indecency with a child. At the moment, no charges relating to abuse of a child can be brought more than 10 years after their 18th birthday, while the other two charges expire after five years.

Nothing substantive has happened with SB 97 since it got referred to the Senate on Jan. 23, while the House bill has languished since getting to Criminal Jurisprudence seven days later.

This article appears in April 20 • 2007.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US

The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.