WASHINGTON : Rape/Molestation Statutes of Limitation
A person is guilty of rape in the first or second degree when such person engages in sexual intercourse with another person by forcible compulsion where the perpetrator or an accessory:
1. Uses or threatens to use a deadly weapon or what appears to be a deadly weapon; or
2. Kidnaps the victim; or
3. Inflicts serious physical injury, including but not limited to physical injury which renders the victim unconscious; or
4. Feloniously enters into the building or vehicle where the victim is situated.
5. By forcible compulsion;
6. When the victim is incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless or mentally incapacitated;
7. When the victim is developmentally disabled and the perpetrator is a person who is not married to the victim and who has supervisory authority over the victim;
8. When the perpetrator is a health care provider, the victim is a client or patient, and the sexual intercourse occurs during a treatment session, consultation, interview, or examination. It is an affirmative defense that the defendant must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the client or patient consented to the sexual intercourse with the knowledge that the sexual intercourse was not for the purpose of treatment;
9. When the victim is a resident of a facility for mentally disordered or chemically dependent persons and the perpetrator is a person who is not married to the victim and has supervisory authority over the victim; or
10. When the victim is a frail elder or vulnerable adult and the perpetrator is a person who is not married to the victim and who has a significant relationship with the victim.
Rape in the first or second degree is a class A felony.
A person is guilty of rape of a child in the first degree when the person has sexual intercourse with another who is less than twelve years old and not married to the perpetrator and the perpetrator is at least twenty-four months (2 year) older than the victim.
A person is guilty of rape of a child in the second degree when the person has sexual intercourse with another who is at least twelve years old but less than fourteen years old and not married to the perpetrator and the perpetrator is at least thirty-six months (3 years) older than the victim.
Rape of a child in the first or second degree is a class A felony.
A person is guilty of child molestation in the first degree when the person has, or knowingly causes another person under the age of eighteen to have, sexual contact with another who is less than twelve years old and not married to the perpetrator and the perpetrator is at least thirty-six months older than the victim. Child molestation in the first degree is a class A felony.
A person is guilty of child molestation in the second degree when the person has, or knowingly causes another person under the age of eighteen to have, sexual contact with another who is at least twelve years old but less than fourteen years old and not married to the perpetrator and the perpetrator is at least thirty-six months older than the victim. Child molestation in the second degree is a class B felony.
The statute of limitations for rape in the 1st or 2nd degree is 10 years after commission of the offense.
Bob commits rape against Jane. In order for Bob to be tried and convicted of his crime, Jane must make a report and seek charges against Bob within 10 years of the day the incident happened.
The statute of limitations for certain offenses will not extend for more than 3 years after the victim's 18th birthday or more than 7 years after commission of the offense, whichever is later. The offenses included are:
1. Rape of a child in the 1st or 2nd degree
2. Child molestation in the 1st or 2nd degree
Bob rapes 13-year-old Jane. In order for Bob to be tried and convicted for his crime, Jane must report the crime and press charges within 7 years of the incident, or within 3 years of her 18th birthday, whichever allows more time.
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