The defendant, Robert Hamel, was convicted after a jury trial in Superior Court {Lynn, J.) on a charge of felonious sexual assault. On appeal, the defendant argues that the Superiоr Court {Gray, J.) erred in denying his motion to dismiss because the statute of limitations had run. We affirm.
On September 1, 1992, the defendant was indicted on three counts of felonious sexual assault under RSA 632-A:3, II (1986). The indictments аlleged that on October 20,1981, and between July 1 and September 1, 1982, the defendant engaged in sexual intercourse with a fifteen-year-old girl. The defendant moved to dismiss, contending that the aрplicable statute of limitations had expired. The trial court denied the motion concluding: “No statute of limitationfs] ran before enactment of a longer statute. No substantive rights оf the defendant were affected but only the length of time in which the alleged acts could be reported.” The defendant was convicted of one count of felonious sexual assault.
At the time of the offense, the applicable statute of limitations was six years. RSA 625:8 (1986); see also RSA 632-A:7 (1986). Subsequently, the statute of limitations for violations of RSA chapter 632-A was extended twice. The first extension, RSA 632-A:7, I (Supp. 1986) (the 1986 amendment), took effect on January 1, 1987, ten months prior to the October 20,1987, expiration of the six-year limitations period in effect at the time the defendant сommitted the offense. The 1986 amendment did not address the six-year limitations period, but provided that in cases where the victim was under the age of eighteen at the time of the offense, the statute would not begin to run until the victim’s eighteenth birthday. The limitations period under the 1986 amendment ran on the defendant’s case on September 16, 1990. Prior to this expiration date, however, the legislature enacted a second extension, RSA 625:8,111(d) (Supp. 1993) (the 1990 amendment), which took effect on April 27, 1990. The 1990 amendment provides: “[Pjrosecution may nevertheless be commеnced: . . . For any offense under RSA 632-A, where the victim was under 18 years of age when the alleged offense occurred, within 22 years of the victim’s eighteenth birthday.” RSA 625:8, 111(d).
The defendant argues that the 1986 аmendment did not apply to crimes that were committed before its effective date because the amendment affected the substantive rights of a criminal defendant. Further, he сontends that a comparison of the 1986 and 1990 amendments demonstrates that the legislature intended the 1986 amendment to apply prospectively only. We disagree.
As a preliminary matter, we must determine whether the legislature intended the 1986 amendment to extend the limitations pe
We next turn to the question of whеther the amendment applies to crimes committed before its effective date. When the legislature is silent as to whether a statute should apply prospectively or retrospectively, our interpretation turns on whether the statute affects the parties’ substantive or procedural rights. State v. Johnson,
It is well settled that a civil statute of limitatiоns period applies to the remedy only and “there is no constitutional bar to applying it retrospectively.” Id.; see also Norton,
At the outset, we note that there is no such thing as a common lаw criminal statute of limitations. See C. Torcia, Wharton’s Criminal Law § 90, at 415 (1978). Subject to constitutional qualifications, “statutes of limitation[s] may be changed at the pleasure of the legislative pоwer,” Willard v. Harvey,
In this case, the crucial determination is whether the 1986 amendment placed a greater burden on a criminal defendant than merely extending the prosecutorial window. The defendant distinguishes the 1986 amendment from a traditional statute of limitations by classifying it as legislation that “created a new class of sexual assault crimes.” The 1986 amendment, however, did not change the ultimate facts needed to prove guilt, nor did it punish a previously innocent act. See Petition of Hamel,
We are likewise unpersuaded by the defendant’s argument that the 1986 amendment subjects him to stale charges or deprives him of an adequate defense. If a defendant is actually prejudiced by a delay in prosеcution, such a claim would be adequately addressed by way of a motion to dismiss for prejudicial pre-accusation delay. See State v. Ramos,
The defendant argues that even if the 1986 amendment is remedial, a comparison of the 1986 and 1990 amendments rebuts the presumption that the 1986 amendment applies retrospectively. The crux of the defendant’s argument is that because the 1986 amendment is silent and the 1990 amendment contains a clear statement of retrospective intent, the legislature intended the 1986 amendment to apply prospectively. Because we presume that remedial statutes apply retrospectively, a statement оf retrospective intent in such a statute serves solely as a point of clarification; its absence would not lead us to the conclusion that the legislature intended such a statute to apply prospectively only. The legislature can expressly provide for purely prospective application of a remedial statute. The 1986 amеndment, however, contained no such language.
Finally, the defendant argues that because the 1990 amendment “repealed” the 1986 amendment, at the time of his prosecution the 1986 amendment was no longer an “active” statute that could be applied retrospectively. We find no merit in this argument. In effect, the 1990 amendment extended the limitations period set forth in the 1986 amendment.
Affirmed.