U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer announces Virginia’s Law in Buffalo
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer has announced legislation that would eliminate the statute of limitations for sexual exploitation survivors seeking justice.
The bill, Virginia’s Law, is named in honor of Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s early accusers who came forward about her experiences and advocated for years to strengthen current law to better protect survivors. Democrats have announced companion legislation in the House.
Schumer said at a media stop in Buffalo, “Justice should not expire. No survivor should ever be told that the law failed them, and time mattered more than the truth. That’s why I’m proud to introduce Virginia’s Law to eliminate the federal statute of limitations barriers that have kept too many survivors from pursuing justice.”
Currently, federal law allows a federal claim to proceed by an adult survivor if it is brought within 10 years of the abuse, which Schumer said has allowed criminals to escape justice by running out the clock. Virginia’s Law removes the federal statute of limitations for adult survivors to bring civil claims and hold their abusers accountable at a time that is right for the survivor. The bill also creates new causes of action, without a statute of limitations time bar, to create new legal avenues for survivors to pursue justice and ensure survivors can bring additional claims against abusers. In addition, the legislation also helps ensure this applies extra-territorially without negatively impacting ongoing cases, so abusers can’t take victims to regions outside the United States and avoid civil liability.
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