Taiwan Legislature Passes Preliminary Review of Criminal Code Amendment to Suspend Statute of Limitations for Child Sex Crimes Until Victim Turns 20

(Central News Agency, Reporter Wang Yangyu, Taipei, 11th) The Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee of the Legislative Yuan today passed the preliminary review of the draft amendment to Article 80 of the Criminal Code. It explicitly states that the period from the date a sexual offense is committed until the victim reaches the age of 20 shall not be included in the statute of limitations for prosecution.

The committee continued to jointly review 37 draft amendments to Article 80 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of China, submitted by the Executive Yuan, the Judicial Yuan, and legislators from both the ruling and opposition parties. Secretary-General Gao Jinzhi of the Judicial Yuan and Deputy Minister Huang Mou-hsin of the Ministry of Justice attended to provide explanations.

The amendment proposed by the Executive Yuan and the Judicial Yuan noted that sexual offenses are inherently secretive. Victims, whose physical and mental development may be immature at the time of the incident, may fail to seek legal recourse due to psychological trauma, insufficient understanding of their legal rights, or power imbalances with the perpetrator. This can lead to the expiration of the statute of limitations, preventing them from achieving justice through the criminal justice system.

In response, the amendment explicitly states that the period from the date of the sexual offense until the victim reaches the age of 20 shall not be counted towards the statute of limitations. The spirit of the amendments proposed by legislators is similar, though some use wording such as "until the victim reaches adulthood" or "calculated from the date the victim reaches adulthood."

During the committee discussion, Deputy Minister Huang Mou-hsin expressed support for the version using the age of 20, citing its clarity and support from legislative precedents. Legislators from both sides supported protecting the rights of sexual offense victims, and the committee ultimately approved the proposal as submitted by the Executive Yuan and the Judicial Yuan. The case does not require party caucus negotiation. (Editor: Zhai Sijia) 1150611