JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Authority figures who fail to report allegations of crimes against children would have a lot more time to be brought up on charges if a new Florida bill becomes law.
The bill would tweak how the statute of limitations works for failure to report crimes like sexual abuse against a minor.
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Currently, once a “mandatory reporter” like a teacher or doctor learns of suspected abuse and fails to report it, law enforcement has only three years to bring charges against them.
State Representative Wyman Duggan (R-Jacksonville) is sponsoring the bill, which he told us came at the request of State Attorney Melissa Nelson during an upcoming episode of This Week in the 904.
“When you drop, you drop your child off at school, it’s a reasonable expectation that they’re going to look after your child in the same way that you would. And if they have an obligation to report and fail to do so, they should pay a penalty for that and my bill helps make that reality,” Duggan said.
Under the bill, the clock wouldn’t start ticking until law enforcement learns of the failure to report, rather than the actual date the failure to report occurs.
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That means those who stayed silent and allowed abuse to go unpunished could still held accountable, even if the victim doesn’t come forward to report their abuse for years.
Duggan explained it was the wave of abuse allegations at Douglas Anderson back in 2023 that put the issue in the spotlight.
“It was discovered that mandatory reporters, people who had an obligation to report the behavior, failed to do so, but unfortunately, the three-year statute of limitations had expired. So, the State Attorney was unable to bring a charge against them,” Duggan said.
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“In Florida, a mandatory reporter should not be able to escape liability by staying silent until the statute of limitations expires,” Nelson told Action News Jax in a statement.
Duggan also filed this bill last year, but it failed to get traction in the Senate.
Things are looking better this year though, as the bill cleared it’s first Senate Committee Monday afternoon, one day before the official start of session.
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