In Canada, there is no criminal statute of limitations for sexual assault, which means police can lay charges and the Crown can prosecute a case no matter how long ago it happened.
Civil lawsuits work differently, but Alberta has removed most time limits for sexual assault claims too.
If you are facing a historical allegation, understanding these rules is the first step to figuring out what comes next.
Getting a call from police, or a letter about a civil lawsuit, over something that happened 10 or 20 years ago is one of the most disorienting experiences a person can have.
The first question almost everyone asks is the same: isn’t there some kind of time limit on this?
For sexual assault in Canada, the honest answer is almost always no, and understanding why is the first step to figuring out what comes next.
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No.
Canada has no statute of limitations for sexual assault when the Crown proceeds by indictment, which is the standard path for this offence.
A charge can be laid and a trial can happen decades after the alleged incident, even if the person accused is now in their 60s or 70s and the event is said to have happened when they were a teenager.
This is different from a lot of other countries, and different from how most people assume criminal law works.
There is no deadline counting down somewhere in the background.
A complaint made today about something from 1995 is treated, procedurally, the same as a complaint about something from last month.
Parliament treats sexual assault as serious enough, and difficult enough to report right away, that it does not expire as a criminal matter.
Many people who experience a sexual assault take years to come forward because of shame, fear, or simply not being ready to talk about it, so the law allows police and prosecutors to act whenever a complaint is made, not only within a fixed window after the event.
Police services in Alberta and across the country have leaned into this, actively telling survivors that reporting is possible regardless of when the assault occurred.
That policy, combined with no criminal deadline, means a complaint can surface at any point, which cuts both ways.
It also means someone can be investigated for something from long ago, using memories and evidence that have had decades to fade.
Sexual assault under section 271 of the Criminal Code is a hybrid offence.
That means the Crown prosecutor chooses how to proceed, and that choice is what actually determines whether a time limit applies.
If the Crown proceeds by indictment, which is typical for sexual assault, there is no deadline at all.
If the Crown instead chooses to proceed summarily, section 786(2) of the Criminal Code sets a 12 month limit from the date of the alleged offence, unless both the prosecutor and the accused agree to go ahead later.
In practice, most sexual assault cases proceed by indictment, especially when the complainant was under 16, since the Criminal Code allows for up to 14 years in prison in those cases and ties directly into age of consent laws in Canada.
That makes the indictable route, and its complete lack of a time limit, the one that matters most for anyone facing a sexual assault allegation.
These rules sit alongside the broader limitation period framework that applies to other criminal charges in Canada, where plenty of offences do carry a fixed window.
Sexual assault is one of the clearest exceptions to that general pattern.
Yes and no.
A civil lawsuit for sexual assault is separate from a criminal charge, and it normally comes with a limitation period, often two years from when the harm became clear to the person who experienced it.
But Alberta has eliminated that deadline for claims relating to sexual assault, so in most cases a civil suit can be filed at any time too.
Alberta’s Limitations Act, specifically section 3.1(1), removes the limitation period entirely for a claim relating to sexual assault or battery.
That exception was added in 2017 and carries no age or relationship requirement; it attaches to the claim itself.
The Act draws a narrower line around other kinds of sexual misconduct that fall short of assault or battery.
Those claims only avoid a time limit if the person was a minor at the time, or was in an intimate or dependent relationship with the person responsible, which is the same category of relationship that often comes up in domestic violence allegations.
Police services across Alberta have been actively encouraging people to come forward no matter how long ago an assault happened.
Combined with no criminal time limit, that has led to a steady rise in charges tied to events from 10, 20, even 40 years earlier.
Some of these cases start with a single complaint to police.
Others surface during an unrelated investigation, a civil lawsuit, or a news story that prompts other people to come forward about the same person.
None of that requires fresh forensic evidence.
A credible complaint and a police investigation are enough to lay a charge.
If you are facing a sexual assault charge or civil claim tied to something from years or decades ago, the lack of a time limit does not mean the case against you is strong.
Old cases often come with faded memories, missing witnesses, and no physical evidence, all of which can be challenged, but only with the right defence strategy in place early.
Memory fades and changes over time, for complainants and witnesses alike.
Physical evidence that might have supported or undermined an allegation is often long gone.
Alibis become harder to establish when nobody kept records from decades ago.
None of that makes a historical case automatically weak.
It means both sides have to work harder to piece together what can still be verified, and that is exactly where a defence lawyer’s experience with these specific cases matters.
You have the same Charter rights in a historical case as you would in a case from last week.
That includes the right to remain silent, the right to speak with a lawyer before answering any questions, and protection against unreasonable search or seizure.
If police contact you about a historical allegation, including a request for a “voluntary” interview, you are entitled to legal representation before saying anything at all, and to ask about a bail hearing if you are arrested.
What you say in that first conversation can shape the rest of the case.
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Facing a sexual assault allegation, especially one tied to something from years ago, is overwhelming.
Browne Criminal Defence works with people at every stage of that process, from the first phone call from police through to trial.
Our team handles sexual assault charges and the full range of sex offences we defend across Calgary, the rest of Alberta.
That includes historical allegations, where building a defence depends on reconstructing timelines, tracking down old records, and testing a complainant’s account against whatever evidence still exists.
Every case is different, and no lawyer can promise a particular result, but having an experienced defence lawyer involved early gives you the best chance to respond to an allegation the right way.
If you or someone you know has been contacted by police, served with a civil claim, or charged with a historical sexual assault anywhere in Alberta, Browne Criminal Defence can walk you through what the process looks like and what your options are.
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No. You can report a sexual assault to police in Canada at any time, whether it happened last week or decades ago. Police will investigate based on the information available, and whether charges follow depends on the evidence, not on how much time has passed since the alleged incident.
Yes. Because sexual assault is almost always prosecuted as an indictable offence, there is no deadline for the Crown to lay charges. Cases involving events from 10, 20, or even 40 years earlier are increasingly common, and age or health does not prevent a charge from proceeding.
In most cases, no. Alberta’s Limitations Act remove the usual time limit for civil claims that relate to sexual assault, so a lawsuit can generally be filed years after the alleged event, regardless of when it happened.
A criminal charge is brought by the Crown and can result in jail time or a criminal record if there is a conviction. A civil lawsuit is brought by the person who says they were harmed, seeking financial compensation. The two can happen separately, together, or one without the other.
Yes, a conviction can happen based on a complainant’s testimony alone if a judge or jury finds it credible and reliable beyond a reasonable doubt. Physical evidence is not required, which is why challenging the reliability of memory and testimony is often central to defending these cases.
Avoid answering questions or agreeing to a “voluntary” interview before speaking with a criminal defence lawyer. You have the right to stay silent and the right to legal advice before any statement is made, and what you say in that first conversation can significantly affect the rest of the case.
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