Lawmakers try to close gaps in Minnesota's sex assault laws with public safety bill

Minnesota's sexual assault laws were on the verge of a broad revamp Tuesday, as lawmakers prepared to approve a sweeping set of changes aimed at plugging longstanding gaps in reporting and prosecuting such cases.

Tucked inside this year's public safety spending bill are laws to widen the definition of "mentally incapacitated" to include voluntary intoxication, cancel the statute of limitations on charging sex crimes, and criminalize extorting victims into sex.

The changes stem from a series of recommendations made this year by a statutory reform working group created after the Star Tribune's 2018 "Denied Justice" investigative series on deficiencies in Minnesota's sex assault laws.

https://www.startribune.com/lawmakers-try-to-close-gaps-in-minnesota-s-sex-assault-laws-with-public-safety-bill/600073316/