[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 39 (Thursday, April 11, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2579-S2580]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. TORRICELLI:
  S. 2090. A bill to eliminate any limitation on indictment for sexual 
offenses and make awards to States to reduce their DNA casework 
backlogs; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. TORRICELLI. Madam President, I rise today to introduce the Sexual 
Assault Prosecution Act. This legislation will ensure that no rapist 
will evade prosecution when there is reliable evidence of their guilt.
  As Federal law is written today, a rapist can walk away scot-free if 
they are not charged within five years of committing their crime. This 
is true even if overwhelming evidence of the offender's guilt, such as 
a DNA match with evidence taken from the crime scene, is later 
discovered. Some States, including my home State of New Jersey, have 
recognized the injustice presented by this situation and have already 
abolished their statutes of limitations on sexual assault crimes, and 
many other States are considering similar measures. Given the power and 
precision of DNA evidence, it is now time that the Federal Government 
abolish the current statute of limitations on Federal sexual assault 
crimes.
  The precision with which DNA evidence can identify a criminal 
assailant has increased dramatically over the past couple decades. 
Because of its exactness, DNA evidence is now routinely collected by 
law enforcement personnel in the course of investigating many crimes, 
including sexual assault crimes. The DNA profile of evidence collected 
at a sexual assault crime scene can be compared to the DNA profiles of 
convicted criminals, or the profile of a particular suspect, in order 
to determine who committed the crime. Moreover, because of the 
longevity of DNA evidence, it can be used to positively identify a 
rapist many years after the actual sexual assault.
  The enormous advancements in DNA science have greatly expanded law 
enforcement's ability to investigate and prosecute sexual assault 
crimes. Unfortunately, the law has not kept pace with science. Given 
the precise accuracy and reliability of DNA testing, however, the legal 
and moral justifications for continuing to impose a statute of 
limitations on sexual assault crimes are extremely weak. To that end, I 
am introducing the ``Sexual Assault Prosecution Act'' which will 
eliminate the statue of limitations for sexual assault crimes. This 
legislation will not affect the burdens of proof and the government 
will still have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt before any 
person could be convicted of a crime.
  Currently, the statue of limitations for arson and financial 
institution crimes is 10 years and is 20 years for crimes involving the 
theft of major artwork. If it made sense to extend the traditional 
five-year limitations period for these offenses, surely it makes sense 
to do so for sexual assault crimes, particularly when DNA technology 
makes it possible to identify an offender many years after the 
commission of the crime. By eliminating this ticking clock, we can see 
to if that no victim of sexual assault is denied justice simply because 
the clock ran out. I look forward to working with each and every one of 
you in order to get this legislation enacted into law.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the legislation be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2090

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Sexual Assault Prosecution 
     Act of 2002''.

     SEC. 2. SEXUAL OFFENSE LIMITATION.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 213 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) in section 3283, by striking ``sexual or''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 3296. Sexual offenses

       ``An indictment for any offense committed in violation of 
     chapter 109A of this title may be found at any time without 
     limitation.''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--The table of 
     sections for chapter 213 of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

``3296. Sexual offenses.''.

     SEC. 3. AWARDS TO STATES TO REDUCE DNA CASEWORK BACKLOG.

       (a) Development of Plan.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 45 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation, in coordination with the Assistant Attorney 
     General of the Office of Justice Programs of the Department 
     of Justice, and after consultation with representatives of 
     States and private forensic laboratories, shall develop a 
     plan to grant voluntary awards to States to facilitate DNA 
     analysis of all casework evidence of unsolved crimes.
       (2) Objective.--The objective of the plan developed under 
     paragraph (1) shall be to--
       (A) effectively expedite the analysis of all casework 
     evidence of unsolved crimes in an efficient and effective 
     manner; and
       (B) provide for the entry of DNA profiles into the combined 
     DNA Indexing System (``CODIS'').
       (b) Award Criteria.--The Federal Bureau of Investigation, 
     in coordination with the Assistant Attorney General of the 
     Office of Justice Programs of the Department of Justice, 
     shall develop criteria for the granting of awards under this 
     section including--
       (1) the number of unsolved crimes awaiting DNA analysis in 
     the State that is applying for an award under this section; 
     and
       (2) the development of a comprehensive plan to collect and 
     analyze DNA evidence by the State that is applying for an 
     award under this section.
       (c) Granting of Awards.--The Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation, in coordination with the Assistant Attorney 
     General of the Office of Justice Programs of the Department 
     of Justice, shall--
       (1) develop applications for awards to be granted to States 
     under this section;
       (2) consider all applications submitted by States; and
       (3) disburse all awards under this section.
       (d) Award Conditions.--States receiving awards under this 
     section shall--
       (1) require that each laboratory performing DNA analysis 
     satisfies quality assurance standards and utilizes state-of-
     the-art DNA testing methods, as set forth by the Federal 
     Bureau of Investigation in coordination with the Assistant 
     Attorney General of the Office of Justice Programs of the 
     Department of Justice;
       (2) ensure that each DNA sample collected and analyzed be 
     made available only--
       (A) to criminal justice agencies for law enforcement 
     purposes;
       (B) in judicial proceedings if otherwise admissible;
       (C) for criminal defense purposes, to a criminal defendant 
     who shall have access to samples and analyses performed in 
     connection with any case in which such defendant is charged; 
     or

[[Page S2580]]

       (D) if personally identifiable information is removed, 
     for--
       (i) a population statistics database;
       (ii) identification research and protocol development 
     purposes; or
       (iii) quality control purposes; and
       (3) match the award by spending 15 percent of the amount of 
     the award in State funds to facilitate DNA analysis of all 
     casework evidence of unsolved crimes.
       (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to the Department of Justice $15,000,000 
     for each of fiscal years 2003 through 2006, for awards to be 
     granted under this section.
                                 ______