S. 3815, called "Virginia's Law," would allow victims of sexual abuse and human trafficking to sue their perpetrators in federal court for damages and attorney's fees. The bill creates new civil lawsuits for victims of sexual abuse crimes and crimes involving transportation for illegal sexual activity, while also eliminating time limits for filing civil cases related to the most serious trafficking offenses (forced labor, sex trafficking, and commercial sexual exploitation). For most sexual abuse and trafficking cases, victims would have 10 years from when the crime occurred, or 10 years after turning 18 if they were minors, to file suit; however, victims of the three most severe trafficking crimes would have no deadline. Civil lawsuits would be paused during any ongoing criminal case involving the same conduct. The law would apply immediately to cases that could still be brought under existing time limits, and would include a one-year window for previously time-barred trafficking cases to be refiled after the bill's enactment.
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