2025 -- H 6133
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S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
____________
A N A C T
RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- INDICTMENTS, INFORMATIONS AND
COMPLAINTS
Introduced By: Representatives McEntee, Craven, and Caldwell
Date Introduced: March 26, 2025
Referred To: House Judiciary
(Attorney General)
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 12-12-17 of the General Laws in Chapter 12-12 entitled "Indictments, 1
Informations and Complaints" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
12-12-17. Statute of limitations. 3
(a) There shall be no statute of limitations for the following offenses: treason against the 4
state; any homicide, arson, first-degree arson, second-degree arson, third-degree arson, burglary, 5
counterfeiting, forgery, robbery, rape, first-degree sexual assault, first-degree child molestation 6
sexual assault, second-degree child molestation sexual assault, bigamy; manufacturing, selling, 7
distribution, or possession with intent to manufacture, sell, or distribute, a controlled substance 8
under the Uniform Controlled Substance Act, chapter 28 of title 21; or any other offense for which 9
the maximum penalty provided is life imprisonment. 10
(b) The statute of limitations for the following offenses shall be ten (10) years: larceny 11
under § 11-41-2 (receiving stolen goods), § 11-41-3 (embezzlement and fraudulent conversion), § 12
11-41-4 (obtaining property by false pretenses or personation), § 11-41-11 (embezzlement by bank 13
officer or employee), § 11-41-12 (fraudulent conversion by agent or factor), and § 11-41-13 14
(obtaining signature by false pretenses), or any larceny that is punishable as a felony; any violation 15
of chapter 7 of title 11 (bribery); any violation of § 11-18-1 (giving false document to agent, 16
employee, or public official); perjury; any violation of chapter 42 of title 11 (threats and extortion); 17
any violation of chapter 15 of title 7 (racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations); any violation 18
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of chapter 57 of title 11 (racketeer violence); any violation of chapter 36 of title 6 (antitrust law); 1
any violation of § 11-68-2 (exploitation of an elder); any violation of § 11-41-11.1 (unlawful 2
appropriation); any violation of § 11-18-6 (false financial statement to obtain loan or credit); any 3
violation of § 19-9-28 (false statement to obtain a loan); any violation of § 19-9-29 (bank fraud); 4
or any violation of § 11-18-34 (residential mortgage fraud). The statute of limitations for § 11-37-5
4 (second degree sexual assault) shall be ten (10) years from the date of the offense, or, in the case 6
of a victim who is under the age of eighteen (18) at the time of the offense, ten (10) years from the 7
victim's eighteenth birthday, whichever is later. 8
(c) The statute of limitations for any other criminal offense shall be three (3) years, unless 9
a longer statute of limitations is otherwise provided for in the general laws. In the case of a violation 10
of § 11-37-6 (third degree sexual assault), the three (3) years shall be measured from the date of 11
the victim's eighteenth birthday, not from the date of the offense. 12
(d) Any person who participates in any offense, either as a principal accessory or 13
conspirator, shall be subject to the same statute of limitations as if the person had committed the 14
substantive offense. 15
(e) The statute of limitations for any violation of chapter 18.9 of title 23 (refuse disposal), 16
chapter 19 of title 23 (solid waste management corporation), chapter 19.1 of title 23 (hazardous 17
waste management), chapter 12 of title 46 (water pollution), and chapter 13 of title 46 (public 18
drinking water supply) shall be seven (7) years from the time that the facts constituting the offense 19
or violation shall have become known to law enforcement authorities, unless a longer statute of 20
limitations is otherwise provided for in the general laws. 21
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 22
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- INDICTMENTS, INFORMATIONS AND
COMPLAINTS
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This act would provide that the statute of limitations for second-degree sexual assault shall 1
be ten (10) years from the date of the offense, or, in the case of a victim who is under the age of 2
eighteen (18), ten (10) years from the victim’s eighteenth birthday, whichever is later. The act 3
would also provide that the statute of limitations for third-degree sexual assault will be measured 4
from the date of the victim’s eighteenth birthday, not from the date of the offense. 5
This act would take effect upon passage. 6
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