MPs aligned on a longer statute of limitations for crimes against children
More than 13,000 signatures have been submitted in support of a popular initiative calling for sexual offenses against children to have no statute of limitations. The Riigikogu is discussing a EU directive under which such crimes would expire after 30 years.
A petition launched on the platform rahvaalgatus.ee is calling for sexual crimes against children to have no statute of limitations and for abusers to be required to pay state-enforced compensation to victims for the suffering they caused.
Under the current Penal Code, such offenses, when classified as second-degree crimes, expire after 10 years.
The Penal Code also lists crimes that are not subject to a statute of limitations. These include crimes against humanity, war crimes and offenses punishable by life imprisonment. Supporters of the popular initiative want sexual crimes against children added to that list.
As of now, the petition has gathered more than 13,000 signatures and although people can sign the initiative until the end of the year, it has already collected enough signatures for the issue to be discussed in the Riigikogu.
Either no limit or 30 years
According to Social Democrat Andre Hanimägi, it is a clear fact that the statute of limitations for sexual crimes against children must be extended.
"The European Union has already jointly decided that these crimes must have longer statutes of limitations. So far, the compromise has been 30 years," Hanimägi said.
Whether such crimes should have no statute of limitations at all is, according to Hanimägi, a more complicated question.
"There have indeed been various arguments on both sides. It is clear that different studies show victims generally only dare to come forward an average of 27 to 28 years later," Hanimägi said, adding that one thing is certain — the current law should be amended.
Hanimägi said the Social Democratic Party would be prepared to support either a 30-year statute of limitations or making the crimes non-expiring altogether. Claims that evidence would no longer be available in cases without a statute of limitations do not hold up, the politician argued.
"There really is not much difference after 30 years. Most likely the same situation exists either way," Hanimägi explained.
Urmas Reinsalu, leader of Isamaa, said the issue is one that must be discussed. A separate question, however, is whether the right approach would be to make the crimes non-expiring or to impose a 30-year limit.
"I think these crimes also raise questions regarding sentencing laws," Reinsalu said, adding that lawmakers must first hear the opinions of legal experts on both issues.
According to Lauri Laats, head of the Centre Party parliamentary group, the popular initiative with 13,000 signatures sends a strong signal to the Riigikogu. In his view, however, a 30-year statute of limitations is only a partial solution.
"A victim should not lose the right to justice simply because processing the trauma takes longer," Laats said in a written response sent to ERR.
Eesti 200 faction head Toomas Uibo said discussions on the issue are already underway in the Legal Affairs Committee and that he believes cross-party consensus can be expected.
"The case involving the Epstein files has also shown that these matters do not come to light in such a short period of time and sometimes it can take decades," Uibo said.
Õnne Pillak, head of the Reform Party parliamentary group, also said the issue is currently especially topical and has already been discussed in the committee.
A related European Union directive is currently being drafted, seeking to establish a 30-year statute of limitations for the aforementioned crimes.
"At the same time, the longer the period, the better," Pillak said, adding that child abuse cases often focus on the perpetrator rather than the victim, which she said is wrong.
The Legal Affairs Committee's positions have now also been forwarded to the European Union Affairs Committee and, according to Pillak, Estonia's views on the directive must be submitted by June 4.
According to Martin Helme, chairman of the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) and head of its parliamentary group, the initiative signed by thousands of people shows that citizens' tolerance threshold has been exceeded when it comes to child protection issues. He described the European Union directive as nonsense.
"In my opinion, this is a communication tactic where, instead of dealing with real problems, they choose some minor detail," Helme said, adding, however, that if lawmakers wanted to extend the statute of limitations for such crimes to 30 years in the Riigikogu, EKRE's votes could also be counted on.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski
