— A bill to extend the statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual abuse to sue their abusers is moving forward in the state House after a passionate debate Wednesday pitting victims’ rights against concerns about business liability and false accusations.

House Bill 37 would extend the civil statute of limitations, currently at three years – a period set during the 19th century – to 20 years after a victim of child sexual abuse becomes an adult at 18.

Under criminal law, there is no statute of limitations for prosecuting child sexual abuse. But the standard of proof is higher, and prosecutors often won't take older cases because of the difficulty of presenting evidence beyond a reasonable doubt of a crime two or three or several decades old.

Rep. Dennis Riddell, R-Alamance, argued that lengthening the window to age 38 would give victims the chance to mature and settle into their own lives, which is when many begin to come to terms with abuse they suffered in childhood.

Rep. Sarah Stevens, R-Surry, tried to amend the bill to lower the age to 28, offering a 10-year window instead of 20. She said it would be "nightmare" for an accused person to prove he or she didn't commit a crime alleged to have occurred so many years ago.

"How do you determine where you were 30 years ago?" Stevens asked. "How do you defend yourself in this kind of case?"

Stevens argued that people could use the longer statute to file false accusations to end politicians' careers or to attempt to get money from schools, camps or community centers for failing to stop abuse in the past.

"All you have to do is swear it happened," she said. "They’re going to go after somebody with deep pockets."

"There are all sorts of problems associated with false accusations which can be prevalent as well," agreed Rep. Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke. "Anybody who wants to settle a score with somebody, for example, can go down to the courthouse and file an action."

"We’ve seen that little thing play out on the national stage," added Rep. Dana Bumgardner, R-Gaston.

"There’s nothing today from preventing me from filing a false suit against anybody in this room about just about anything," Riddell responded, pointing out that seven states and Guam have no limit on such lawsuits. "Have their courts been clogged with false suits? The answer is no."

"What you just heard is why victims don’t come forward. That is probably the best explanation I could have given," he said. "We’re worried about somebody’s pocketbook? Which side do you want to be on?"

Rep. Donna White, R-Johnston, a longtime nurse and victims' advocate, argued passionately for the longer window. She spoke of a victim she knows who was raped at the age of 6 by her mother's boyfriend. As an adult, she said, the woman has no legal recourse against her abuser.

"Do you think she knew at 6 years old that she needed to save her panties?" White asked. "She will never get over this."

"She doesn’t want a penny," she added. "She wants peace."

Stevens' amendment failed 8-20.

House Bill 37 passed the committee by a wide margin after emotional testimony by Mark Roberts, a Wake County man who said he was speaking publicly for the first time about being raped as a child by an abuser who also molested some 200 other children. Roberts said he knew two of them had committed suicide.

The committee went silent as Roberts, his voice breaking, testified about the emotional toll it took on victims' lives and the decades it often takes victims to realize what had happened to them.

The bill could be on the House floor next week.