Sarah Hedlund and Diana Mondragón

Sarah Hedlund https://sarahhedlund.com/

Diana Mondragón https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmm90/

https://www.justinquery.com/

Iowa has no criminal statute of limitations for felony sexual abuse crimes committed against minors under 18.

Criminal Charges

• No Time Limit: Under Senate File 562, passed in 2021, criminal charges for child sexual abuse, incest, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking involving minors can be brought at any time.

Civil Lawsuits
Civil statutes of limitations are more restrictive.  Last May, Governor Reynolds signed into law House File 1036, dealing with human trafficking

• General Deadline: Survivors generally have five years after turning 18 (age 23) to file a civil lawsuit for childhood abuse.
• Abuse by Professionals: If the abuse was committed by a counselor, therapist, school employee, or paid adult trainer/instructor, survivors can file a claim up to five years after they are no longer enrolled at the school or receiving treatment.

• Discovery Rule: survivors of child sexual abuse may have longer—up to five years from when they discovered they had been trafficked or abused—either because they did not previously remember or had not connected the abuse to damages they suffered, such as mental illness or addiction

In Illinois, it is a criminal offense for educators, including teachers, to engage in sexual conduct or sexual relations with a student, regardless of the student’s age or consent. Illinois law specifically addresses the abuse of a position of trust or authority, such as that held by a teacher. Under the Illinois Criminal Sexual Assault statute (720 ILCS 5/11-1.20), a person commits criminal sexual assault if that person holds a position of trust, authority, or supervision in relation to the victim, and the victim is between 18 and 17 years old. This law makes it clear that even if the student is at the age of consent, which is 17 in Illinois, it is still illegal for an educator to have sexual contact with them. Violations of these laws can result in felony charges, with penalties that may include imprisonment and registration as a sex offender. https://www.legalfix.com/topics/criminal-charges/improper-educator-student-relationship/il

Minnesota
Minnesota has a law that criminalizes educator sexual misconduct. Act 138 Section 750.520b, Minnesota’s criminal sexual conduct statute, includes among those defined as a person in a position of authority, “a teacher, substitute teacher, or administrator of a public school, nonpublic school, school district, or intermediate school district in which that other person is enrolled. Penalties range up to life imprisonment for 1st degree criminal sexual conduct against a child under 16 and up to 15 years for 2nd degree criminal sexual conduct against a child 13 to age 18. Sexual assault against a child 16 to 18 can be a misdemeanor punishable by a 2-year sentence. If the victim is at least 16 but under 18 and the abuser is more than 4 years older than the victim and in a current or recent position of authority over the child, neither mistake as to the victim’s age nor consent to the act by the victim is a defense.

Links to laws:
First Degree: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.342
Second Degree: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.343
Third Degree: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.344

https://enoughabuse.org/get-vocal/laws-by-state/criminalizing-educator-sexual-misconduct-map/

Audrie & Daisy. 2016. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5278460/

Diana Strassmann helped found the journal Feminist Economics. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Rice-s-Diana-Strassmann-on-controversial-14828905.php