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Michigan to give sexual abuse victims more time to sue

Posted at 12:42 PM, May 29, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-29 12:42:08-04

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is expected to sign into law bills inspired by the Larry Nassar scandal, including one that would give childhood sexual abuse victims more time to sue.

The current cutoff to file a lawsuit in Michigan is generally a victim’s 19th birthday, which critics say is out of step with the laws in other states and doesn’t account for how many victims are afraid to report abuse or have suppressed it.

The state Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would allow people who were sexually abused as children to sue until their 28th birthdays or three years from when they realized they had been abused. Nassar victims would get a 90-day window to sue retroactively.

Snyder is also expected to sign legislation that would give prosecutors additional time to file charges in second- and third-degree sexual conduct cases if the victim was younger than 18.