Bailey v. State

91 P.3d 596, 120 Nev. 406, 120 Nev. Adv. Rep. 46, 2004 Nev. LEXIS 50
CourtNevada Supreme Court
DecidedJune 15, 2004
DocketNo. 40850
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 91 P.3d 596 (Bailey v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nevada Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bailey v. State, 91 P.3d 596, 120 Nev. 406, 120 Nev. Adv. Rep. 46, 2004 Nev. LEXIS 50 (Neb. 2004).

Opinion

OPINION

Per Curiam:

Appellant Daniel Bailey contends his conviction for lewdness with a child under the age of fourteen is barred because the charge was brought after the running of the applicable statute of limitations. Bailey asserts the complaint or information was not filed within three years of the discovery of the offense as provided by NRS 171.095(1)(a). We disagree and conclude that [407]*407NRS 171.095(l)(b) is the applicable statute because lewdness with a minor is an offense constituting sexual abuse of a child under NRS 432B.100. Accordingly, where child victims discover or reasonably should have discovered they were the victims of sexual abuse, an information or complaint may be filed any time before the child victim of the abuse reaches the age of twenty-one. Because the victim in the instant case was under twenty-one when the complaint was filed, the offense was not barred by the statute of limitations and Bailey’s conviction is affirmed.

FACTS

Bailey committed a lewd act with a six-year-old female child sometime between January 1, 1995, and January 1, 1996. In June 1996, the child reported the incident to her mother, however, the mother never informed anyone else of the incident. Several years later, in October 2001, while talking to a school counselor, the child again reported the incident. The counselor notified the proper authorities and, after investigation, Bailey was charged with lewdness with a child under the age of fourteen.

The initial complaint was filed on May 8, 2002, and the information was filed on June 6, 2002. Bailey pleaded guilty to the charge, but he reserved the right to argue for dismissal of the case based on the running of the statute of limitations and to appeal any adverse ruling to this court. Bailey filed a motion to dismiss the complaint alleging that the complaint should have been filed within three years of the date the child reported the incident to her mother, that is before June 1999, citing to NRS 171.095(l)(a). The State responded by arguing that the charge could be brought any time before the victim reached age twenty-one pursuant to NRS 171.095(l)(b).

The district court found: (1) the offense was committed in a secret manner; (2) the offense is subject to the extended statute of limitations for crimes constituting sexual abuse pursuant to NRS 171.095(l)(b) and NRS 432B.100; and (3) in this case, the extended statute of limitations runs until the victim reaches twenty-one years old since the victim was aware of the sexual abuse. Accordingly, the district court found that the State filed the criminal information within the applicable statute of limitations. Bailey timely appealed.

DISCUSSION

Questions of law are reviewed de novo.1 “This court has consistently held that with respect to limitation periods and tolling [408]*408statutes, the statutes in effect at the time of the offense control.”2 Therefore, the relevant statutes in this matter are those that were in effect from January 1, 1995, to January 1, 1996. In 1995, NRS 201.230 provided that lewdness with a child under the age of fourteen was a felony.3 NRS 171.085 (1995) states that, except as provided in NRS 171.095, the State has three years from the commission of the crime to file a charging document.

NRS 171.095 (1995) provides in pertinent part:

1. Except as provided in subsection 2:
(a) If a felony ... is committed in a secret manner, an indictment for the offense must be found, or an information or complaint filed, within the periods of limitation prescribed in NRS 171.085 and 171.090 after the discovery of the offense unless a longer period is allowed by paragraph (b).
(b) An indictment must be found, or an information or complaint filed, for any offense constituting sexual abuse of a child, as defined in NRS 432B.100, before the victim of the sexual abuse is:
(1) Twenty-one years old if he discovers or reasonably should have discovered that he was a victim of the sexual abuse by the date on which he reaches that age; or
(2) Twenty-eight years old if he does not discover and reasonably should not have discovered that he was a victim of the sexual abuse by the date on which he reaches 21 years of age.

Bailey argues that NRS 171.085 and NRS 171.095(1)(a) govern this case, causing the statute of limitations to run in June 1999, three years after the mother discovered the abuse. Since Bailey was not charged until May 8, 2002, he argues the action was barred by the statute of limitations. Bailey cites this court’s recent decision in State v. Quinn4 to support his argument. In Quinn, this court clarified “what constitutes ‘discovery’ of a sexual crime against a child ‘committed in a secret manner’ for purposes of triggering the criminal statute of limitations contained at NRS 171.095(1)(a).”5

However, Quinn differs significantly from this case, as the crime of which Quinn was convicted, indecent exposure, was not included among those offenses constituting sexual abuse under NRS 432B.100.6 Therefore, NRS 171.095(1)(b) was not applicable in [409]*409Quinn. On the other hand, the offense of which Bailey was convicted, lewdness with a child under the age of fourteen pursuant to NRS 201.230

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
91 P.3d 596, 120 Nev. 406, 120 Nev. Adv. Rep. 46, 2004 Nev. LEXIS 50, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bailey-v-state-nev-2004.