HELENA – Republicans and Democrats stood together Wednesday to herald a new bill coming out the House Judiciary Committee regarding child sexual abuse, but one of its sponsors said he believed the proposal fell short by setting a deadline for the civil statute of limitations.

He added he hoped to rectify that some day.

Rep. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula, the House minority whip, said he would be the primary sponsor of a House Judiciary Committee bill now known as LC 3264, which is reforming the statute of limitations for child sex abuse crimes.

He made his announcement among a bipartisan group of lawmakers including Rep. Alan Doane, R-Bloomfield, who is chair of the House Judiciary Committee and fellow board member Rep. Bill Mercer, R-Billings.

“Childhood sexual abuse is an epidemic and it is an epidemic in Montana,” Morigeau said, before adding Montana is improving its laws.

Doane said the bill contains various components of several other bills in committee and it “streamlines the process and makes it more about the children …”

LC 3264 incorporates House bill 109 by Rep. Mary Ann Dunwell, D-Helena, which eliminates the criminal statute of limitations for cases dealing with child sexual abuse, officials said.

It also changes the statute of limitations on civil cases dealing with child sexual abuse, including tripling the number of years victims have to file a civil suit after they become adults from 3 years (until victims are 21) to 9 years (until victims are 27).

Morigeau said he disagreed, but decided to compromise.

“There should be no clock on justice,” Morigeau said, adding the committee felt it was important to incorporate the bills into one.

Morigeau said the median age for reporting is 52. He said most children have found it virtually impossible to immediately come forward.

He said they ultimately agreed on increasing it to nine years.

“It was a difficult thing to do,” he said, but he heard from colleagues as to why it was necessary to move forward.

Mercer said the guiding principle was how can Montana have an effective response when sexual abuse occurs and make sure predators are locked away.

He said the committee had done good work on the statute of limitations, "but we have to make sure not to have another victim.”

Mercer said setting a statute of limitations creates a sense of urgency to report, inducing people to report, rather than wait until someone is 40. He said there were very few states with an unlimited statute of limitations.

Among those testifying on the bills earlier this session were attorneys representing 31 plaintiffs who have filed against James “Doc” Jensen, a former athletic trainer in Miles City who may have sexually abused as many as 200 boys.

These alleged incidents took place from the 1970s through the late 1990s. The plaintiffs recently came forward and filed a lawsuit in September after Jensen posted something on his Facebook page in 2016 seeking forgiveness.

The plaintiffs had to pursue a civil case because the statute of limitations had expired for criminal charges. The youngest is 37 and others range in age through the mid-50s. Plaintiffs decided to sue when Jensen, who was not certified as an athletic trainer, posted something on Facebook seeking forgiveness "from anyone I may have hurt emotionally or physically during my 28 years as the Cowboy Trainer.”

Dan Rice, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said Wednesday he was glad to see the committee take on repealing the criminal statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse, noting most states have already done that.

“This is a positive change for Montana,” he said, adding the bill is “a huge step forward for Montana and the protection of our children.”

“However, we feel that the six-year extension to age 27 on the civil statute of limitations falls short of the average disclosure age of 52 years,” Rice said, adding many states are working on full repeal if they haven’t done so already.

“Montana will unfortunately continue to lag behind those states which have taken a hard look at the mental health science behind disclosure of childhood sexual abuse and which have revised their statute of limitations laws accordingly,” Rice said.

Veteran journalist Phil Drake is our eye on the state capitol. For tips, suggestions or comment, he can be reached at 406-231-9021 or pdrake@greatfallstribune.com.

Support watchdog journalism:Subscribe today and get a special offer