Our foster daughter's life has been marred by a horrific act of incest. Her uncle, who is also her biological father, committed a Class C felony with his sister. Due to the statute of limitations in Tennessee, he can no longer be prosecuted for this crime and is now being considered for custody of his niece/daughter due to parental rights.

Incest is not just an act; it's a lifelong trauma that victims must endure. The current statute of limitations does not reflect the long-term impact on victims' lives nor do they consider the children born from incest a victim!. According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), only 230 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported to police. That means about 3 out of 4 go unreported! Many victims take years or even decades before they can confront their past and seek justice or in our daughters case, be forced to live with a criminal who was good at hiding their crime.

We believe that justice should have no expiration date when it comes to such heinous crimes like incest when the crime clearly has an effect on these children. We urge lawmakers in Tennessee to extend the statute of limitations for incest cases so that survivors have more time to come forward, these children have a voice and perpetrators can be held accountable.

We suggest that the SOL can begin when the crime is discovered. We also suggest that the SOL be raised to 15 years which is the maximum prison time a person can serve for a Class C Felony, unless, the crime results in the birth of a child, in which the SOL be raised until that child's 18th Birthday.

Please sign this petition if you believe in justice for all survivors and victims and want our laws changed so they better protect those affected by incestuous abuse and lifestyles.