COLUMBUS, Ohio — Nickie Antonio, an Ohio state Senator, gave sponsor testimony recently for Bill 198, which would eliminate all criminal and civil statute of limitations for rape in Ohio.
“It’s time to modernize the law and to get rid of the statue altogether,” she said.
Antonio has been working on this for years and believes it would give victims more options.
“No matter how much time has passed, you would be able to seek the justice that you deserve,” she said.
Donisha Greene, the Community Director at the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, is in full support of Antonio and her bill.
“There is no statute of limitations on suffering and so there should not be a statute of limitations of holding perpetrators accountable,” she said.
Greene said that if there was no end date for when victims could come forward, it would help them feel more encouraged about seeking justice.
“The overwhelming majority of survivors who reach out to us are folks who have never said anything about their assault, this is the first time that they’re talking about their assault and most times these are assaults that happened a long time ago,” she said.
Antonio said that the bill might not be passed until the next General Assembly, but she and Greene will continue fighting for victims and to get this bill passed.
