Senate Chamber at the state Capitol in Albany. (Photo: Hans Pennink/AP)

The amount of time prosecutors in New York have to bring charges of rape in the second and third degree will be extended after state lawmakers approved legislation to extend that window late Wednesday.

The legislation was approved nearly unanimously in the state Senate Wednesday evening after passing in the state Assembly earlier in the day. It has support from Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Lawmakers had originally proposed eliminating the statute of limitations for rape in the second and third degrees completely, but that changed after further negotiations with other Democrats on the measure.

The final proposal, sponsored by Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas, D-Queens, and State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, D-Westchester, would, instead extend the statute of limitations for those rape charges, as well as other crimes.

“Sexual assaults are uniquely difficult to prosecute and leave lasting physical, psychological and emotional impacts on survivors,” Simotas said. “No one, and especially not our most vulnerable, should be denied justice because the law provides an inadequate window of time to come forward.”

The statute of limitations for rape in the second degree and criminal sexual act in the second degree would be extended to 20 years by the bill. The statute of limitations for rape in the third degree and criminal sexual act in the third degree would be extended to 10 years.

Victims would also be able to bring civil litigation against their alleged assailants for up to 20 years after those offenses, according to the bill.

Cuomo had pushed lawmakers, in recent weeks, to enact legislation that would have eliminated the statute of limitations for rape charges altogether. First-degree rape already has no statute of limitations in New York.

He included the measure in his executive budget in January, and lawmakers had also sponsored legislation to do so outside the spending plan. Cuomo issued a statement Wednesday evening cheering the bill, which he's expected to sign when it comes to his desk.

“By providing victims more time to bring claims in court, we are honoring those who suffered pain, endured humiliation and had the courage to come forward,” Cuomo said. “With the passage of this legislation, we are saying enough is enough.”

Simotas said in an interview with the New York Law Journal earlier this week that the final deal opted to extend the statute of limitations, rather than eliminate it, to protect the rights of defendants.

“The concern is always to ensure that citizens have the right to defend themselves and because of passage of time, lapses in memory and an inability to actually compile evidence for defense, it would likely be a violation of the Sixth Amendment to prevent people from allowing them to mount a defense,” Simotas said.

The New York State Defenders Association, an organization representing the state's public defenders, has historically been opposed to eliminating the statute of limitations for rape in the second and third degree, according to its executive director. The District Attorneys Association of the State of New York doesn't have a position on the bill.

The legislation will take effect immediately when it's signed into law by Cuomo, who has to wait for lawmakers to deliver it to his desk. It will apply to all future cases, but will also extend the window for alleged crimes where the statute of limitations has not yet expired.

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