Gov't to revise law to protect child victims of sex crimes

By Shim Sun-ah

SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Yonhap) -- The government will submit a bill before parliament that calls for revising a law on sex crimes against minors by calculating the statute of limitations after the victim comes of age, the prime minister's office said Tuesday.

The revision, which suspends the statute of limitations for sex crimes against
children under 13 until they reach the age of 20, was approved by a Cabinet
meeting presided over by Prime Minister Chung Un-chan, his office said.
Under current law, the statute of limitations on all sex-related crimes is seven
years. But there have been mounting calls from parents of child victims and
activists to extend the period that perpetrators of sexual violence against
minors can be indicted.
"The government decided to insert the new provision suspending the statute of
limitations in the current law because child victims of sex crimes often fail to
properly testify about their having suffered such crimes due to fear and poor
judgement regarding the situation," the Ministry of Government Legislation said
in a statement.
The revision also requires extending the statute of limitations by 10 years for
all perpetrators of sex crimes when there is indisputable evidence, such as DNA
samples, because new technology enables investigators to find criminals even
after a considerable period of time has passed since the crime, officials said.
sshim@yna.co.kr
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