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My question involves criminal law for the state of: New Jersey
I was molested at the age of 12 in 1981. According to NJ law, there are no statutes of limitations. Even though there aren't any, can I still press charges? I know my molester is currently on lifetime parole due to 2 recent molestation charges on a minor. Thanks.
Well, you can file a police report. You cannot press charges - only law enforcement can do that. But 37 years after the fact, I'm not sure how much evidence you expect there to be.
Further, your understanding of the law is incorrect. The statute of limitations is only 5 years. There's an exception for sexual abuse of minors that perhaps extends that to age 23 of the victim, but we would seem to be past that as well.
There are two different provisions that potentially extend the statute of limitations. Under NJSA Sec. 2C:1-6(a), "A prosecution for any offense set forth in... N.J.S.2C:14-2... may be commenced at any time." Under subsection (4), "A prosecution for an offense set forth in N.J.S.2C:14-3 or N.J.S.2C:24-4, when the victim at the time of the offense is below the age of 18 years, must be commenced within five years of the victim's attaining the age of 18 or within two years of the discovery of the offense by the victim, whichever is later".
As the victim here was under the age of thirteen: If the act of sexual abuse involved penetration, then it can be charged under NJSA 2C:14-2(a)(1) and no statute of limitations applies. If the offender is at least four years older than the victim, an act of sexual contact can be charged under NJSA 2C:14-2(b) and no statute of limitations applies.
If you report the acts to the police, the police will investigate the allegations and, ultimately, they and a prosecutor will determine if there is a sufficient case to warrant bringing new charges.