On Monday, Aug. 5, with a stroke of her pen, Gov. Gina Raimondo provided legal recourse for an unknown number of Rhode Islanders whose complaints against their abusers and the institutions that enabled them butted up against the previous limit of seven years past the accuser’s 18th birthday.

The new law, which allows for civil cases to be filed up to 35 years after the age of majority, also includes an interesting provision that could allow for cases to by filed far beyond that date (a victim’s 53rd birthday). It allows for an additional seven years after a period of “discovery” of abuse, in the event of repressed memory.

The bill has been around for a few years, dying in committee in 2017 and 2018, and looked to be on its way to doing the same in 2019 after a Senate version of the bill cut the seven-year repressed memory provision, a move that angered survivors. In an unexpected turn of events, three days before the end of the session in late June, a version including the provision passed unanimously in the Senate, and overwhelmingly in the House.

The new bill mirrors the existing law in Massachusetts.

How will this impact the case of Robert Powers, the Bristol man who recently accused former Town Councilor and parade Chief Marshal David Barboza of years of abuse when Mr. Powers, now age 54, was a child?

“When it comes to Mr. Powers, it depends when the ‘clock’ is allowed to start,” said District 69 Rep. Susan Donovan. As it stands, Mr. Powers missed the standard statute of limitations deadline by four months. But the new repressed memory provision might change that. According to Mr. Powers, his memories of the assault came flooding back when Mr. Barboza was named chief marshal in 2014. If it is determined that the clock started in 2014, Mr. Powers will be entitled to take action against both Mr. Barboza and the institution that enabled him, which in this case would presumably be the Town of Bristol, as Mr. Barboza was employed by the Police Department during the years of his alleged assaults on Mr. Powers.

“I’m glad that this legislation has passed so future victims have options,” said Rep. Donovan.

Though the legislation was introduced before District 68 Rep. June Speakman took her seat, she said that she voted for it enthusiastically. “The moment of the floor vote was incredibly moving and significant,” she said. “The idea, of course, is to give victims time to come forward … lots of time.”

According to Rhode Island law, there is no statute of limitations under which a person can be criminally charged with the type of first-degree sexual assault of which Mr. Powers asserts Mr. Barboza committed. However, the burden of proof and the amount of time which has passed makes it extremely unlikely that a criminal complaint against Mr. Barboza could move forward in this case.