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How Long Should a Case Be Held Open for Kidnapping and Sexual Assault

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  • 09-28-2018, 01:03 PM
    Sharona21
    How Long Should a Case Be Held Open for Kidnapping and Sexual Assault
    My question involves criminal law for the state of: OKLAHOMA

    I was kidnapped by gunpoint and forced to drive to a secluded wooded area miles away and raped. My baby was in the back seat in a car seat. Afterwards, he took my baby in the car seat out of the car and placed it on the ground. He left us in my car, miles from the main road.
    This was in 1981. I would like to know, since it was not only rape by gunpoint, it was kidnapping/abduction of not just one person, but two, and grand theft auto. I am pretty sure the police would have gotten rid of the evidence (my clothing, files, etc.) since the statute of limitations for rape have run, but
    after all these years, I have wondered if the case should have been left open longer due to the other circumstances (kidnapping (2), grand theft auto). I have
    not contacted the police department that investigated, with my questions. I would just like to know if there had been anything a person could have done with the same scenario. Could it have been kept open longer considering all that was done, therefore, possibly opening up DNA testing when this became available?
  • 09-28-2018, 01:39 PM
    PayrolGuy
    Re: I Was Kidnapped by Gunpoint and Raped
    Seven years seems to be the maximum Statute of Limitations for any felony in OK with the exception of murder. Civil SoL is shorter time, 2 years.
  • 09-28-2018, 02:30 PM
    Taxing Matters
    Re: I Was Kidnapped by Gunpoint and Raped
    Quote:

    Quoting Sharona21
    View Post
    My question involves criminal law for the state of: OKLAHOMA

    I was kidnapped by gunpoint and forced to drive to a secluded wooded area miles away and raped. My baby was in the back seat in a car seat. Afterwards, he took my baby in the car seat out of the car and placed it on the ground. He left us in my car, miles from the main road. This was in 1981....Could it have been kept open longer considering all that was done, therefore, possibly opening up DNA testing when this became available?

    The rape occurred in 1981. The best that I can tell based on my research is that the statute of limitations (SOL) in Oklahoma for all crimes other than murder and certain crimes against the state was 3 years. The three year rule for all such crimes seems to have been in place for many decades before the 1980s. Then in the 1980s Oklahoma amended the statute every few years, but unfortunately the changes I have only go back to 1989. In 1989 Oklahoma changed the law to provide that certain sexual offenses, including rape, would have a 5 year SOL. The law in Oklahoma has long been that if the suspect fled the state before the SOL expired the SOL would be extended for the period of time the suspect is out of the state. What this means is that the SOL for all the crimes he committed likely expired 3 years from the date the crimes occurred, i.e. in 1984. Whatever the law was in 1981, that 1989 change set the limit at 5 years for the rape and the rest of the crimes would have had a 3 year SOL. So at best the SOL for the rape extended to 5 years from the date the crime was committed, i.e. it would have expired in 1986, unless the rapist fled the sate before the SOL expired. If he fled the state before the SOL expired and never returned then the SOL is still open to this day.

    Current law in Oklahoma is that rape has a 12 year (SOL) when committed against an adult and if committed against a child the SOL runs until the victim reaches age 45. See 22 Ok Stat. § 152(C). (This is a recent change; the old law was a 7 year SOL, as PayrolGuy indicated. A number of internet sites that show state SOLs still have not updated their sites to reflect this change.) The staute provides an exception that allows a rape prosecution that is otherwise barred by the normal SOL rule to commence within 3 years after identification of the suspect through DNA testing. The problem is that these changes occurred after the SOL for the crime committed against you expired (assuming the perpetrator did not flee the state) and the Constitution bars the state from enlarging a SOL to include crimes for which the SOL had already expired prior to the change. Moreover, OK state law states that no law in the Criminal Procedure Code is retroactive unless the state legislature expressly declares it it retroactive (22 Ok Stat. § 3), meaning that even if the SOL was still open for this case when the changes were made to include the DNA rule the changes would not apply unless the Act making that change said it was to be retroactive. I do not see in the Code itself that it was retroactive, but I've not checked the legislation amending the Code to see if the legislation makes it retroactive. But again, that only potentially helps if the SOL was open at the time because the perpetrator fled the state before the old 3 or 5 year SOL expired and has stayed out of the state since then.

    So the bottom line here is that if the guy fled the state in the early 80s when the SOL was still open and never returned then he can still be prosecuted for the crimes he committed. But if he stayed in the state until the SOL expired then there is nothing that can be done now to prosecute him.
  • 09-28-2018, 02:57 PM
    Sharona21
    Re: I Was Kidnapped by Gunpoint and Raped
    Since the guy was never identified, and the DNA evidence most likely disposed of, I have no recourse.
    I don't know how long they keep the evidence. Does anyone know? I would imagine it's long gone.
    I would also think that the rape/kidnapping/auto theft would be stacked and there would be a longer
    SOL. That is wishful thinking on my part. It would be just wonderful to know who he is and to see if he
    has any other open crimes, some which may be more recent and therefore be prosecuted.

    Thank you PayrolGuy and Taxing Matters for your replies.
  • 09-28-2018, 03:43 PM
    Mercy&Grace
    Re: I Was Kidnapped by Gunpoint and Raped
    It is important to keep in contact with the investigator. Although this does not change the SOL It is possible the man that committed these crimes against you and your child. Committed similar crimes later on. The man could have been convicted of other crimes. At least you would have know he was finally punished.

    It is important to keep detectives updated on phones numbers, addresses, etc.
  • 09-28-2018, 04:16 PM
    Sharona21
    Re: I Was Kidnapped by Gunpoint and Raped
    Thank you, Mercy&Grace.
    The detectives did not instruct me to do this and I had no idea that I was to be the one with the responsibility to keep in touch. I did keep in touch for awhile, but when they Perhaps if they really cared, they would have kept in touch with me. I had to re-live it all with hypnosis, going through suspects' mug shots, etc. I felt even more victimized, especially when they never found him.
    That was my point earlier, that if they had just been able to seal the evidence and conduct DNA testing later on, they could have connected my case with others. But was this an unknown back in 1981? If it was just on the horizon, I don't know why they wouldn't have gone ahead and done it. But 7 years is not very long. It should be at least 20 years SOL
    with crimes such as this.
  • 09-28-2018, 05:02 PM
    Mercy&Grace
    Re: I Was Kidnapped by Gunpoint and Raped
    Quote:

    Quoting Sharona21
    View Post
    Thank you, Mercy&Grace.
    The detectives did not instruct me to do this and I had no idea that I was to be the one with the responsibility to keep in touch. I did keep in touch for awhile, but when they Perhaps if they really cared, they would have kept in touch with me. I had to re-live it all with hypnosis, going through suspects' mug shots, etc. I felt even more victimized, especially when they never found him.
    That was my point earlier, that if they had just been able to seal the evidence and conduct DNA testing later on, they could have connected my case with others. But was this an unknown back in 1981? If it was just on the horizon, I don't know why they wouldn't have gone ahead and done it. But 7 years is not very long. It should be at least 20 years SOL
    with crimes such as this.

    If you did not keep them updated with your contact information. They might not have been able to contact you.

    DNA has come a long way since 1981. Space is limited. They can only keep so much evidence. Are you sure they ran your rape kit ? Unfortunately, in some areas, rape kits were not processed for many, many years.

    I am glad you are your child survived.
  • 09-28-2018, 05:13 PM
    Taxing Matters
    Re: I Was Kidnapped by Gunpoint and Raped
    Quote:

    Quoting Sharona21
    View Post
    Since the guy was never identified, and the DNA evidence most likely disposed of, I have no recourse.
    I don't know how long they keep the evidence. Does anyone know?

    The only people who would know that are the persons who keep evidence for the particular police department that took the evidence. Each department is different and has different policies on that. While the evidence would generally be kept for at least the three or five year SOL period that existed in 1981, how longer after that it would be kept would be up to the particular department to decide.

    Quote:

    Quoting Sharona21
    View Post
    I would also think that the rape/kidnapping/auto theft would be stacked and there would be a longer SOL. That is wishful thinking on my part.

    Unfortunately, you are correct, it is just wishful thinking. The SOLs do not stack. Each crime has its own separate SOL. So the grand theft and the kidnapping charges were subject to a three year statute of limitations, and that SOL has not changed. So unless the guy fled the state before those 3 years were up the SOL on those offenses is long past.

    Quote:

    Quoting Sharona21
    View Post
    It should be at least 20 years SOL with crimes such as this.

    Rape offenses typically were not subject to special SOL rules in most states until at least the 80s and the real changes to them have occurred since about 2000 when a number of of states started to provide for much longer SOLs than in past. Some states today provide no SOL at all for a forcible rape like the one you experienced. Some others do provide 20 years or more for a SOL. DNA testing is one of the reasons for that. Oklahoma is a bit late in that trend, just recently making the SOL 12 years.

    DNA testing is relatively new. The first conviction in the U.S. with DNA evidence was in 1987. The first use in a criminal case in England was 1986. In 1981 DNA testing in criminal cases was not done. The technology just wasn't there yet. That doesn't mean that evidence from which DNA testing could be done wasn't collected, but in 1981 they would not have recognized the DNA value of the evidence.
  • 09-29-2018, 09:28 AM
    Sharona21
    Re: I Was Kidnapped by Gunpoint and Raped
    This convinces me and puts my mind to rest that there is nothing else that can be done to find and prosecute that man.
    People that commit these acts don't realize, or maybe they do, that it affects the victim for life. I cannot fathom that they
    do this without any guilt. Surely it's got to affect them at least a little. Because that is all I can hope for. That they live
    the rest of their lives with as much guilt as the victim's trauma. I can only wish for that.
    Thank you all for your outstanding responses to my post.
  • 09-29-2018, 11:04 AM
    cbg
    Re: I Was Kidnapped by Gunpoint and Raped
    What a terrible thing for you to have to go through. I hope you're getting counseling to help you through it. If you aren't, I recommend it. I'm so sorry you had to go through that.
  • 09-29-2018, 11:57 AM
    Sharona21
    Re: I Was Kidnapped by Gunpoint and Raped
    That is so nice of you to say, cbg. Thank you. My husband thinks I'm made of steel and I am strong, I know. I will be just fine.

    Just one more thing I want to say. What really made it bad was that when he got into the car at the shopping center, the gun was not loaded. He pulled over on the highway and made me drive. He then pulled the bullets out of his pocket and loaded the gun. I could have just honked the horn in the parking lot and screamed and he probably would have left. But I didn't know the gun wasn't loaded. That is what makes me sick. I didn't know if he would get mad and shoot both of us right there. You just don't know.

    Please, if anyone benefits from my incident, let it be that you are aware of everything that goes on around you. Even if it is in a busy shopping center parking lot. He chose me because of having the baby with me. I was easy prey. I just want everyone to know how vulnerable you can be and there are some really bad, cold people out there.
    Take care everyone.
  • 09-29-2018, 03:11 PM
    Mercy&Grace
    Re: I Was Kidnapped by Gunpoint and Raped
    Quote:

    Quoting Sharona21
    View Post
    That is so nice of you to say, cbg. Thank you. My husband thinks I'm made of steel and I am strong, I know. I will be just fine.

    Just one more thing I want to say. What really made it bad was that when he got into the car at the shopping center, the gun was not loaded. He pulled over on the highway and made me drive. He then pulled the bullets out of his pocket and loaded the gun. I could have just honked the horn in the parking lot and screamed and he probably would have left. But I didn't know the gun wasn't loaded. That is what makes me sick. I didn't know if he would get mad and shoot both of us right there. You just don't know.

    Please, if anyone benefits from my incident, let it be that you are aware of everything that goes on around you. Even if it is in a busy shopping center parking lot. He chose me because of having the baby with me. I was easy prey. I just want everyone to know how vulnerable you can be and there are some really bad, cold people out there.
    Take care everyone.

    You had no way of knowing the gun was not loaded. You were not willing to risk your and your child's life on a guess. You went with your instinct. You made the right decision. You and your child lived through it. That is what is important.
  • 09-29-2018, 03:13 PM
    cbg
    Re: I Was Kidnapped by Gunpoint and Raped
    I've heard it said that any time you go through something like that, if you come out of it alive, you did the right thing.
  • 09-29-2018, 05:47 PM
    hr for me
    Re: I Was Kidnapped by Gunpoint and Raped
    Quote:

    Quoting cbg
    View Post
    I've heard it said that any time you go through something like that, if you come out of it alive, you did the right thing.

    amen, darling! And gentle (((hugs))) to the OP
  • 09-29-2018, 07:32 PM
    Sharona21
    Re: I Was Kidnapped by Gunpoint and Raped
    I can't believe the support you all give me. I have never had this much support in all these years. I am just really overwhelmed.
    I have not even had this much support from my family. I want you to know how much I appreciate what you have said and that
    I hope everything goes well for you for the rest of your lives.
    Thank you so much. Thank you.
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