Senate bill would extend rape cases' statute of limitations

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - An Ohio Senate bill proposes extending the statute of limitations for rape and sexual battery amid an ongoing state initiative to test rape kits to help solve reported sexual assaults.

The bill introduced last week would allow prosecutors to file charges 20 years after DNA evidence in rape and sexual battery cases is found, regardless of when the crime took place, the Northeast Ohio Media Group reported (http://bit.ly/16ppayR ).

A testing initiative announced by Attorney General Mike DeWine in 2011 offers free DNA testing to law enforcement agencies with untested rape kits.

The current statute of limitations for rape cases is 20 years after the alleged crime took place, but some of the old rape kits being tested are nearing that limit.

A report from the beginning of the year showed testing has led to 2,224 DNA matches in a criminal database. In Cuyahoga County alone, the testing has led to 247 criminal indictment cases, many of which date back to the early- to mid-1990s in the Cleveland area.

Sen. Shannon Jones, a Republican from Springboro in southwest Ohio, is a co-sponsor of the bill. She says the legislation is a priority.

"If there is DNA evidence that connects someone to a horrible crime, the victims can have some semblance of justice done," she said.