Editorial: End statute of limitations on child sex abuse

Fifteen months in prison for a "serial child molester" is just not enough punishment.

But that's what former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert received - not for abusing children as he admitted he did - but for a financial crime as part of a cover-up of those crimes 40 years ago.

"Some conduct is unforgivable no matter how old it is," said U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin in handing down the sentence against Hastert.

That sentence would have been much longer had the statute of limitations not run out on the sexual abuse claims that Hastert admitted in court, Durkin said.

And this case highlights a problem that Attorney General Lisa Madigan wants the legislature to fix.

"When a prosecutor cannot indict an offender for these heinous acts because the statute of limitations has run, it raises serious moral, legal and ethical questions," Madigan said as quoted by the Associated Press.

All state legislators should support a bill sponsored by a Champaign Democrat, state Sen. Scott Bennett, to address the issue. Setting a time limit is especially a problem in child sexual abuse cases as Bennett, a former prosecutor, said victims may take a long time before they are comfortable to come forward.

Indeed, one of Hastert's victims never spoke publicly about what happened to him until Hastert's sentencing day, 37 years later.

"(Time) shouldn't be a complete bar to a victim just because they may not be in a place to discuss their trauma right after it happens," Bennett said.

Illinois would not be alone in dropping the statute of limitations. Officials with the National Center for Victims of Crime said about 30 states have no statutes of limitations and at least seven states have no time restraints on any felonies. Currently in Illinois, people who were sexually abused as children have until their 38th birthday to open a criminal case. Hastert's victim Scott Cross was 53 when he spoke in court last week.

The Hastert case also highlights a lack of clear and uniform rules for coaches regarding travel with student athletes or other one-on-one time. Hastert, a wrestling coach, is accused of abusing athletes on his team while they were alone with him.

Officials with the Illinois High School Association, Daily Herald columnist Kerry Lester reported earlier this week, say guidelines are up to each school. But a better option would be for the IHSA to adopt uniform guidelines that schools could then adopt.