02/24/2007

Republican-American (Waterbury, CT)
By BEN CONERY

Taking limits off sex crimes

Repeal of statute of limitations under review

HARTFORD, CT - As far as his criminal record shows, John Regan kidnapped a woman inside her Overlook home in 1993.

But authorities and the woman say that isn't even close to the whole story.

They say Regan broke into the woman's home while she slept, slipped into her bedroom, bound her and put a pillow over her head. They say he raped her and then put a gun to her head, threatening to kill her if she called police.

By the time authorities caught up with Regan using DNA evidence in 2004, it was too late to charge him with sexual assault because the statue of limitations had expired. Instead, they could only charge him with kidnapping.

Lawmakers are considering a bill to prevent that from happening again.

The bill, drafted by the governor, would eliminate the statute of limitations for the most serious sexual assault charges.

The intention of the law is to help authorities solve cold cases where there is DNA evidence. The legislature's Judiciary Committee considered the proposal Friday during a hearing.

The Department of Public Safety and the state victim advocate supported the bill. Opposition came from the Office of the Chief Public Defender.

"Without any finite period of time within which a prosecution can be brought, it may be impossible for an innocent person to fairly defend himself 30, 40, 50 or more years beyond the date of the offense", wrote Deborah Del Prete Sullivan in testimony to the committee.

There are six cases in Connecticut where authorities made a DNA match in sexual assault cases but could not pursue charges because the statute of limitations had expired.

The proposed legislation does not currently contain a provision that would apply the law retroactively. The victim in the Regan case thinks it should.

Regan, 50, is serving 15 years in prison for three attacks against women. One was in upstate New York, the other two in Waterbury, including the 1993 case.

The victim, who the Republican-American is not identifying, believes Regan should serve more time in prison. She believes he would have had a stiffer sentence if he was charged with more than kidnapping in her case.

The statute of limitations in sexual assault cases is now 20 years, having been increased from five years in 2000. But that increase was not retroactive and, as a result, did not apply when Regan was arrested in 2004.

"Regan should be charged with the crime he committed in my case, which is first-degree sexual assault," the victim wrote in a letter to the Judiciary Committee. "I fear for my life when he gets out and believe he will attack other innocent victims."