In Arkansas, there is no statute of limitations for child molestation at the most serious level: rape of a minor, first- and second-degree sexual assault involving a minor, felony sexual indecency with a child, and incest involving a minor can be prosecuted at any time, no matter how many years have passed. Lesser sex offenses against children carry a deadline tied to the victim’s age, and survivors who want to sue for money damages generally have until they turn 55 under a 2021 law, though part of that law is being reviewed by the Arkansas Supreme Court.
Criminal Charges With No Deadline
Arkansas Code 5-1-109 lists specific child sex offenses that prosecutors can charge at any time. For a case involving a child victim, the following have no statute of limitations:
- Rape under Arkansas Code 5-14-103, when the victim was a minor.
- Sexual assault in the first degree under Arkansas Code 5-14-124.
- Sexual assault in the second degree under Arkansas Code 5-14-125, when the victim was a minor.
- Felony sexual indecency with a child under Arkansas Code 5-14-110.
- Incest under Arkansas Code 5-26-202, when the victim was a minor.
The same no-deadline rule applies to several exploitation offenses: engaging children in sexually explicit conduct for visual or print media, transporting a minor for prohibited sexual conduct, computer exploitation of a child in the first degree, and employing a child in a sexual performance.1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-1-109 – Statute of Limitations
For these offenses, delay alone is never a bar to prosecution. A case can be opened decades after the abuse if the evidence supports it.
Charges That Must Be Brought Before the Victim Turns 28
A second group of child sex crimes carries a deadline tied to the victim’s age rather than the date of the offense. Third-degree sexual assault, fourth-degree sexual assault, first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, permitting abuse of a minor, and possession of child sexual abuse material can be prosecuted as long as three conditions are met at once: the victim was a minor, the crime was not previously reported to law enforcement or a prosecutor, and the victim is not yet 28 years old.1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-1-109 – Statute of Limitations
That middle condition catches people off guard. If a parent or school called police when the child was 10, these specific charges fall back under the standard felony deadlines: six years for Class Y and Class A felonies, three years for lower-level felonies. The age-28 extension exists only for crimes that stayed hidden at the time.
How DNA Evidence Can Keep a Case Alive
Arkansas also removes the deadline when DNA ties a suspect to the crime. If biological evidence capable of producing a DNA profile is identified, the time limit for prosecuting rape is eliminated. Separately, when DNA testing implicates a person who was identified through a search of the state or national DNA database, no statute of limitations can block prosecution.1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-1-109 – Statute of Limitations
Prosecutors can even indict an unknown person by including that person’s genetic profile in the charging document. If a database hit later identifies the suspect, the prosecution counts as having started on the date the original indictment was filed.
Civil Lawsuits: The Age-55 Deadline
A survivor who wants to sue for money damages is looking at a different set of rules. In 2021, Arkansas passed the Justice for Vulnerable Victims of Sexual Abuse Act, which allows a person who was a minor or had a disability at the time of the sexual abuse to bring a civil lawsuit until they turn 55. That replaced a much shorter window that cut off claims at age 21.2Justia. Arkansas Code 16-118-118 – Civil Action for Vulnerable Victims of Sexual Abuse The age-55 deadline covers suits against the abuser as well as against any party whose wrongful conduct caused the victim to be abused.
The Three-Year Discovery Rule
Arkansas has a separate rule for survivors who did not recognize the connection between their abuse and their adult injuries until later. Under Arkansas Code 16-56-130, if the abuse happened when the survivor was a minor but was not discovered until after the survivor turned 18, the survivor has three years from the time they discover that the abuse caused their injury or condition.3Justia. Arkansas Code 16-56-130 – Civil Actions Based on Sexual Abuse
The law does not force a survivor to pin the harm on one specific incident. A claim can rest on the survivor’s discovery of the effect of an overall pattern of abuse.3Justia. Arkansas Code 16-56-130 – Civil Actions Based on Sexual Abuse Between the age-55 rule and the three-year discovery rule, a survivor gets the benefit of whichever gives them more time.
The Revival Window Is in Legal Limbo
The 2021 law also opened a “revival window” that let survivors file lawsuits for abuse whose deadline had already passed under the old law. The original version gave survivors under age 55 a 30-month window. In 2023, the legislature removed the age cap and extended the window through February 2026.
In February 2025, the Arkansas Court of Appeals struck down the revival window. The court ruled that once a statute of limitations expires, the defendant acquires a vested right to rely on that expired deadline, and the legislature cannot revive claims that were already time-barred when the new law took effect.4Justia. H.C., L.S., R.T., and T.K. v. James Darrell Nesmith
That decision did not touch the age-55 deadline for claims that were still alive when the Act took effect. In May 2025, the Arkansas Supreme Court granted review of the appeals court decision and will consider the issue from scratch. Until the Supreme Court rules, there is real uncertainty about whether previously expired claims can be filed. Anyone whose claim depends on the revival window should talk to an Arkansas attorney before February 2026 rather than waiting to see how the court rules.
Claims Against Schools, Churches, and Youth Organizations
A civil case does not have to be aimed only at the abuser. Institutions can be sued for negligence when they knew or should have known about the risk and failed to act. The theory is that the institution failed to protect the child, not that it committed the abuse.
Which deadline applies depends on how the claim is pleaded. If the institution is named as a party “whose tortious conduct caused the victim to be abused,” the age-55 deadline under the vulnerable victims statute may apply. Otherwise, institutional negligence claims may fall under Arkansas’s general three-year personal injury deadline, with the discovery rule under Arkansas Code 16-56-130 potentially extending it.3Justia. Arkansas Code 16-56-130 – Civil Actions Based on Sexual Abuse
Arkansas still recognizes the charitable immunity doctrine, which can shield certain nonprofits from some liability. Courts have applied it narrowly in recent years, but it can still complicate claims against churches, charities, and other nonprofit entities.
When the Clock Can Be Paused
In limited situations the filing deadline can be paused, a concept lawyers call tolling. Pausing the clock is different from the discovery rule, which decides when the clock starts in the first place.
Arkansas recognizes fraudulent concealment as a basis for tolling. If the defendant took active steps to hide their wrongdoing or their identity, the statute of limitations can be paused while the concealment continues. That doctrine comes from Arkansas case law, not a specific statute, and courts have applied it where deliberate deception kept the victim from discovering the basis for a claim.
Arkansas law also tolls deadlines for people who were under 21 or had a legal disability when their cause of action arose. For child abuse cases, the interaction between this general disability tolling and the specific deadlines in the sexual abuse statutes can get complex, and the more specific statutes typically control. If your situation touches any of these edges, a conversation with an Arkansas attorney who handles abuse cases is the right next step.