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Extracted Text (OCR)
62a
II. The indictment is timely
A. The indictment complies with the statute of
limitations
Federal law imposes a five-year limitations period
for most non-capital offenses. 18 U.S.C. § 3282(a).
Recognizing the difficulty of promptly prosecuting
crimes against children, Congress has provided a
longer limitations period for “offense[s] involving the
sexual or physical abuse, or kidnaping” of a minor. 18
US.C. § 3283. Until 2003, the operative version of
§ 3283 allowed prosecution of these offenses until the
victim reached the age of twenty-five. Congress further
extended the limitations period in the PROTECT Act
of 2003, Pub. L. No. 108 21, 117 Stat. 650, to allow
prosecution any time during the life of the victim.
The parties agree that the Mann Act charges are
timely if subject to the PROTECT Act, but untimely
under the general statute of limitations for non-capital
offenses or the pre-2003 version of § 3283. Maxwell
contends that the charged offenses do not qualify as
offenses involving the sexual or physical abuse or
kidnapping of a minor and are thus governed by the
general statute of limitations. Alternatively, she
contends that the pre-20038 version of § 3283 applies
because the charged conduct occurred prior to 2003.
The Court concludes that statute of limitations in the
PROTECT Act applies and that the charges are timely.
1. The Mann Act charges are offenses
involving the sexual abuse of minors
Maxwell does not dispute that the facts alleged in
the Sl superseding indictment involve the sexual
abuse of minors. The indictment charges that Epstein
sexually abused each of the alleged minor victims and
that Maxwell allegedly enticed them to travel or
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