There are exceptions to the statute of limitations laws in many states when DNA evidence has been collected during a rape investigation, especially when a perpetrator is not immediately identified.
For example, Florida has no statute of limitations for filing charges when DNA was preserved in rape cases that occurred after 2006. Likewise, victims in Minnesota, Texas, and Utah can press charges indefinitely as long as the state is in possession of DNA evidence from the crime.
With advancements in technology and the creation of state and national DNA databases, it’s no longer uncommon that DNA from a rape kit collected many years ago is suddenly matched to an inmate or defendant arrested for some other offense.
New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Wisconsin either suspend or lengthen the statute of limitations in their states when DNA evidence is available, and Delaware has chosen to lengthen its usual five years to 10 in the presence of DNA evidence.
The statute of limitations for rape in New Jersey and New Mexico doesn’t begin until the date that the state is able to identify a suspect when that identification is based on DNA.
Other states have extended the statutes of limitations an additional one to three years after DNA evidence identifies a perpetrator, even when the crime took place many years or even decades before.