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Extracted Text (OCR)
Case 1:20-cr-00330-AJN Document 144 Filed 02/04/21 Page 9 of 25
that Minor Victim-1 would engage in one or more sex acts with Jeffrey Epstein, in violation of
New York Penal Law, Section 130.55.” Jd. ¥ 19.
ARGUMENT
“Except as otherwise expressly provided by law,” a non-capital criminal offense must be
charged “within five years next after such offense shall have been committed.” 18 U.S.C.
§ 3282(a); see 18 U.S.C. § 3282 (1994) (same). Because Counts One through Four charge Ms.
Maxwell with offenses that were completed no later than 1997, and because the indictment was
not returned until July 2020, these counts are time-barred unless “otherwise expressly provided
by law.” Id.
For two independent reasons, § 3283, on which the government relies (see Government’s
Memorandum in Support of Detention (““Gov. Mem.”), Dkt. No. 4, (filed Jul. 2, 2020), at 5),
does not save Counts One through Four. First, under the version of § 3283 that was in effect at
the time of the alleged offenses, the limitations period expired when the accuser reached the age
of 25, which indisputably occurred many years ago here. 18 U.S.C. § 3283 (1994). While
Congress amended the statute in 2003 to extend the limitations period to “during the life of the
child,” see Prosecutorial Remedies and Tools Against the Exploitation of Children Today Act of
2003 (PROTECT Act) (the “2003 Amendment’), PL 108-21, April 30, 2003, § 202, 117 Stat.
650, 660, that amendment cannot apply to conduct that occurred during the 1990s. Second, by
its plain terms, § 3283 applies only to offenses “involving the sexual or physical abuse, or
kidnaping, of a child.” 18 U.S.C. § 3283. But the sexual or physical abuse or kidnaping of a
child is not an element of any of the offenses charged here. Accordingly, § 3283—regardless of
which version is considered—simply does not apply.
I. The 2003 Amendment Does Not Apply Retroactively.
At the time of the alleged offenses, § 3283 provided as follows:
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00002657.jpg |
| File Size | 681.7 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.3% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 1,987 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 16:25:53.278918 |