(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – A ruling handed down today by the Ohio Supreme Court addresses the issue of stopping the statute of limitations in cases where the defendant is on the run. Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray welcomed the ruling in this criminal case, State of Ohio v. Larry Bess. Cordray filed an amicus brief in the case last December, in support of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office.

“I am very pleased with the court’s decision today,” said Cordray. “This ruling helps clarify that time under the statute of limitations stops when a defendant flees a jurisdiction to evade prosecution for any crime. Through this ruling, it is clear that defendants cannot manipulate the system and avoid accountability for some charges by hiding and letting time run in a criminal case.”

In today’s decision, the high court overturned an Eighth District Court of Appeals decision and remanded the case back to the trial court for prosecution.

State of Ohio v. Larry Bess involves a defendant who fled Ohio in 1989 after his stepdaughter accused him of sexually abusing her. When Bess was finally caught in 2007, his stepson came forward with similar allegations for the first time. When the acts were committed, Ohio’s criminal statute of limitations placed a six-year limitations period on prosecution of such acts of sexual misconduct, but the statute includes a provision that tolls this time – that is, stops the limitations period from running – during any time when the accused “purposely avoids prosecution.”

After his capture in 2007, Bess was indicted and prosecuted for both allegations but the trial and appellate courts threw out the charges related to the stepson, holding that the limitations period only tolled for those charges that had been made against Bess prior to his departure in 1989. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor appealed the decisions to the Ohio Supreme Court in June 2009.

In his amicus brief, Cordray argued that when an offender such as Bess flees, he makes prosecution impossible for all offenses, and he alone should bear whatever hardships arise from that.

In the 4-2 decision, the Supreme Court reversed, holding that when a defendant flees the jurisdiction, the statutes of limitations for all crimes that could have been brought against him while he was away are tolled until he returns.

To view the court’s decision, visit www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/BessDecision.

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