Sexual Assault Civil Trial Statute of Limitations

My girlfriend was sexually assaulted by a relative when she was 15 years old and she wants to sue that relative now.  She is now 21 years old.  Is it too late for her to sue?  It’s already been six years since it happened.  We live in San Antonio, Texas.

I am very sorry to hear about your situation.  These types of situations are never easy to deal with, but fortunately the laws in Texas are very strict in regards to sexual offenders.  You left out a couple of potentially important details, such as if the assault was ongoing or re-occurring.  I will proceed based on the supposition that the assault occurred only once when your girlfriend was 15.

Back to your question, the Texas statute of limitations for a civil suit based on sexual abuse is 5 years.  See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.0045.  However, the Texas Legislature provided an exclusion to that rule that allows tolling of that time period during the time a plaintiff is under the age of 18 years.  In other words, the 5 year limit does not begin until the victim turns 18.  Thus, even though more than five years have passed since your girlfriend was assaulted, less than 5 years have passed since she turned 18.  That means she can sue the offender in a civil action.

We may be putting the cart before the horse, though.  Have the police been notified about the situation?  Is the perpetrator a known sex-offender?  The Texas criminal statute of limitations for sexual abuse has not yet expired.  A criminal conviction would make proving a civil case less difficult.  More importantly, if this sex-offender is not stopped, there is a more than negligible chance that he will hurt someone else.  If you have any further questions about a civil suit in this matter, feel free to contact our offices.

Disclaimer:  We are licensed Texas attorneys, and base our writings on Texas law.  This information is current and accurate at the time of posting.  We do not update previous posts if/when the laws change.  This blog does not constitute legal advice.