Tim Evans

The Indianapolis Star

Ind. one of only 7 states with 5-year statute of limitations for rape

Some states re-examining decades-old limits

Statutes aim to deter potentially fraudulent and old claims

INDIANAPOLIS -- A man walks into the sheriff's office and confesses to raping a young woman in 2005.

In 28 states across the U.S., he would have been arrested and prosecuted. But in Indiana, Bart Bareither walked out a free man.

Why? Because in this state rape charges can no longer be filed if the incident took place more than five years ago.

Indiana is among just seven states with a statute of limitation of five years or less for filing rape charges. In 11 states, the statute of limitation is from six to nine years. In 12 others, it ranges from 10 to 20 years. And 20 states have no limit at all.

The case highlights the delicate balance between liberty and justice that plays an integral part in a criminal justice system based on the classical belief that "it is better that 10 guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer." It also comes as some states re-examine decades-old limits on prosecuting rape and other sex crimes.

Last year, Kansas lawmakers threw out the state's five-year limit. Similar legislation is pending in Ohio, where advocates are pushing to scrap a 20-year limit.

"The need for justice and the need for healing do not suddenly go away after some arbitrary number of years has passed," said Katie Hanna, executive director of the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence.

Statutes of limitations — in place for most civil claims and criminal acts other than murder — are a critical component of the U.S. legal system aimed at deterring potentially fraudulent and old claims.

Ryan W. Scott, a law professor at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in Bloomington, said the traditional rationale for time limits is tied to the two basic concerns.

"One has to do with repose. At a certain point, a person should no longer have to fear they will be charged with a crime that occurred years ago," he said. "The other has to do with difficulty of proof. After a certain time, it becomes harder to get reliable evidence, physical evidence deteriorates and the memories of witnesses fade."

In Indiana, the is no statute of limitations on Class A felony charges, what the state deems the "worst of the worst" criminal offenses. That includes murder, as well as other charges such as dealing in more than three grams of cocaine, methamphetamine or a narcotic drug, armed robbery resulting in injury, and child neglect resulting in death.

State lawmakers also saw fit to include in that category aggravated rape, which involves the use of a deadly weapon or serous injury to the victim. But if neither circumstance applies, rape is a Class B felony with a five-year limit on bringing charges.

Indiana lawmakers are in the midst of finalizing a major criminal code overhaul set to take effect later this year, but the legislation does not address statutes of limitation.

Bareither's victim, 35-year-old Jenny Wendt, doesn't think any time limit should prevent the prosecution of her rapist. She has to live with the pain of what happened for the rest of her life.

Like the majority of rape victims, Wendt, who was a student at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis at the time, had never reported the crime. Instead, she said she has spent the last decade focused on trying to move past the nightmares, the self-doubt, the guilt and the fear that prompted her to go out and buy a handgun.

So when she learned Bareither had confessed, Wendt felt like she was getting a second chance. And this time, Wendt said, she was strong enough to move forward with a prosecution.

Then she learned prosecutors could not charge Bareither.

"I was completely devastated," Wendt said.

Wendt said she once again finds herself a victim — this time of an Indiana law that lags those in most other states.