Reporting sexual abuse where a long period of time has elapsed

Crimes against sexual freedom and sexual indemnity are all too often hushed up. The reason? Victims often feel guilty or ashamed to report, especially when they are minors. In most cases, they just want it to be over as soon as possible.

The best example of this is the crime of sexual abuse. In many cases, especially when we refer to children, the victim does not realise that he or she has been abused until some years later. Therefore, we would like to answer the question of whether or not abuse can be reported after many years.

What is considered sexual abuse?

Sexual abuse in the Penal Code is typified as a crime in articles 181 and 182 (Title VIII, Chapter II). This legal text defines them as acts that violate the freedom and/or sexual indemnity of a person without consent and without violence or intimidation.

The penalty for sexual abuse

It is clear from the above that consent is a key element of sexual abuse offences. In this regard, the Penal Code goes a step further by defining it as:

• Victims deprived of meaning because of a diagnosed mental disorder.
• Victims who, through the use of drugs or medicines, cease to have their own free will.
• Victims whose consent is obtained through prevalence, that is, through a situation of superiority that restricts them from expressing their will.

Prejudice is the most common element in obtaining "vitiated consent" by overriding the will of the victim. There are many cases that come to mind. For example, a father who takes advantage of his authority to sexually abuse his daughter or a teacher who does the same to get what he wants from his pupil.

In these cases, the penalty for sexual abuse, as determined in Article 181.1 of the Penal Code, will be between one and three years imprisonment or a fine of 18 to 24 months.

However, this penalty can be increased to between 4 and 10 years' imprisonment if carnal access occurs vaginally, anally or orally. It does not have to consist of the insertion of the penis. Any other bodily member or object would be sufficient to receive this aggravated consideration.

The statute of limitations for the crime of sexual abuse

In a homogeneous way, the Criminal Code tends to link the statute of limitations to the penalty associated with the offence. Therefore, in most cases, we would be talking about the legal time to file a complaint for sexual abuse being between 1 and 10 years. In cases where the victim is a child under the age of 16, the penalties could be increased to 15 years.

However, this could be somewhat unfair. Therefore, Article 131 of the Penal Code sets out a number of general rules for the statute of limitations for offences:

• The statute of limitations for all offences, with the exception of libel, slander and other minor offences (1 year), expires after 5 years.
• After 10 years, those associated with imprisonment or disqualification for between 5 and 10 years will be subject to the statute of limitations.
• After 15 years, those associated with imprisonment or disqualification for between 10 and 15 years will be subject to the statute of limitations.
• After 20 years, those associated with imprisonment or disqualification for between 15 and 20 years will be subject to the statute of limitations.
• At the age of 25 years, those associated with imprisonment or disqualification for between 20 and 25 years will be subject to the statute of limitations.
• At 30 years when the sentence is longer than 20 years.

It should be made clear that, if a crime is statute-barred, the court is obliged by law to close the case. However, in order to protect minors from possible crimes, in case they are the victims, the statute of limitations starts to run when they turn 18.

So can abuse be reported after many years?

Según lo dicho anteriormente, una víctima de abusos sexuales, en el supuesto más grave, tendría de plazo hasta cumplir los 33 años para denunciar. Sin embargo, la ley de protección a la infancia y la adolescencia frente a la violencia aprobada durante el mes de junio de 2022 introdujo una excepción en este artículo del Código Penal.

Lo que ha hecho este texto legal es extender el período de prescripción de los delitos de abusos sexuales para que puedan denunciar quienes tengan entre 33 y 50 años. Esto se ha hecho con base en la premisa de que superar los traumas generados por tales situaciones requiere mucho más tiempo del que hasta ahora indicaba la legislación.

What happens after I file a complaint?

As long as the complaint is made within the limitation period, it is admissible. Even if many years have passed. But, as with any other type of crime, it is necessary to prove that the alleged offender has committed the crime.

It is entirely possible to report a crime of sexual abuse without evidence. In fact, it is most common when many years have passed since the offence was committed. However, the mere testimony of the victim may not be sufficient to prove it.

This makes it especially important to have the services of a good criminal lawyer who specialises in this area. He or she will handle the case and collect other testimonies from people who witnessed what happened or who were also sexually abused by the same person.