I v\u00e5rt land er det varierende foreldesesfrist for overgrep mot barn og unge, etter hvor alvorlig overgrepet er, men ofte er det (hos oss og i andre land) 10 \u00e5r etter at personen fyller 18. I Den katolske Kirke er dette ogs\u00e5 hovedregelen, men Kirken \u00e5pner for \u00e5 sette til side alle aldersgrenser ved behov. I USA ble foreldesesfristen utvidet dramatisk for katolske prester etter de store avsl\u00f8ringene i 2002, og n\u00e5 vurderer staten New York ogs\u00e5 \u00e5 utvide fristen for anklager mot l\u00e6rere og andre statsansatte til 40 \u00e5r – men denne utvidelsen skal gjelde bare for ett \u00e5r, deretter skal den vanlige 10-\u00e5rsregelen gjelde igjen. I New York planla man \u00e5 gj\u00f8re denne forandrinegn i fjor, men mange opplevde dette s\u00e5 dramatisk at det ble utsatt til i \u00e5r:<\/p>\n
… Legislation introduced to suspend the statute of limitations in claims against Catholic clergy was, \u201cafter much debate\u201d, amended last year to include governments and their employees. They would be liable in lawsuits stretching back nearly six decades.<\/p>\n Suddenly, lobbyists and advocates for school boards, counties and small towns spoke out.<\/p>\n \u201cStatutes of limitation exist for a reason,\u201d said Bob Lowry, the deputy director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents. \u201cHow can anyone go back 40 years and ascertain what happened? Witnesses, responsible authorities, even the perpetrator himself or herself, may have passed away.\u201d<\/p>\n And suddenly, this is not a \u201cscandal\u201d about benighted and devious institutions trying to save face and money. No. Jim Dwyer writes:<\/p>\n It is a collision of powerful civic values: the need to provide justice to people who were outrageously injured as children and manipulated into silence, and the duty of courts to decide cases based on reliable evidence.<\/p>\n The bill was not voted on last year (as no doubt it would have been had the Catholic Church only been at risk) but it, and a companion bill, are before the legislature again, says the Times. They would provide a one-year window for filing lawsuits that go back 40 years. Once that window had closed, the statute of limitations would run 10 years after a child turns 18. … <\/font><\/i><\/p>\n