Survivors of child sex abuse ‘silenced’ by Missouri law fight to end time limit
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- Sex abuse survivors to testify in favor of repealing MO time limits on filing lawsuits
- SB 1140 would abolish statute of limitations for child sexual abuse lawsuits in Missouri
- Opponents say repeal of statute of limitations could raise insurance costs
Last year, after the Missouri Legislature failed to pass a measure to eliminate the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse claims, supporters of the bill vowed they’d be back.
On Feb. 11, they’re keeping their word.
Calling Missouri “a sanctuary state for predators,” survivors of sexual abuse and their advocates — some from the International House of Prayer-Kansas City and Branson-based Kanakuk Kamps — plan to testify in support of SB 1140 at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Brad Hudson, a Cape Fair Republican, calls for abolishing the statute of limitations in civil cases involving child sexual abuse. Under current Missouri law, survivors can only sue their abuser up to age 31 or within three years of discovering that their injury was caused by child sexual abuse. And they can only file a claim against an institution that facilitated the abuse up to age 26.
Passage of the bill would then require an amendment to the Missouri Constitution, SJR 93, that, if approved by voters, would enable survivors to file lawsuits for older abuse cases that are currently blocked by time limits.
“Missouri is so far behind the eight ball on this,” Hudson told The Star. “Predators will seek out states where the laws are not as strict, like Missouri. And predators will seek out institutions where they have access to children. We have got to protect these kids.
“We’re talking about victims of child sexual abuse. We’re talking about people who, at a very young, formative age, had terrible things done to them. And studies have shown that it can take decades for individuals to process what has happened to them, let alone trying to decide that they want to speak about it publicly.”
Proponents of the bill cite research that indicates it takes an average of 20 years for child sex abuse survivors to first disclose their abuse. Many don’t disclose it until their 50s and 60s, they say, and a large number of survivors never disclose the abuse.
But opponents, including the insurance industry, say eliminating the statute of limitations could make it difficult to set rates and hurt some businesses by making insurance cost-prohibitive.
Similar proposals have been introduced in the Missouri Legislature in previous years but have failed to advance. Hudson thinks the chances are better this year.
“In this building, nothing’s a sure thing,” he said. “But the fact that we saw progress on the Senate side last year, and the kind of progress that we’ve never seen before, plus the amount of attention that this is getting, even on a national level, I am optimistic that all these things are going to work together and we are going to be able to get something done this year.”
Abuse survivors join forces
Last March, survivors of sexual abuse at IHOPKC and Kanakuk Kamps joined forces in support of Hudson’s statute of limitations proposal and a measure called “Trey’s Law,” which prohibited the use of non-disclosure agreements in civil settlements involving child sexual abuse. The measure was named after Trey Carlock, who died by suicide in 2019 after being silenced by an NDA in a settlement against Kanakuk Ministries.
That legislation was passed and signed into law by Gov. Mike Kehoe in June. But the statute of limitations measure, which the committee overwhelmingly supported, never made it to the Senate floor.
Sexual abuse survivors came from several states and packed last year’s Senate committee hearing. It marked the entry of IHOPKC survivors and their advocates into the political arena.
Among those testifying was Tammy Woods, who came forward in 2024 to allege that she was sexually abused by her then-pastor, Mike Bickle, in the 1980s, starting when she was 14 and living in St. Louis. Bickle later went on to launch the International House of Prayer-Kansas City, a 24/7 global ministry.
This year, Woods, now of Kalamazoo, Michigan, is on a mission to get the legislation passed. On Jan. 20, she wrote to every Missouri senator and representative asking for their support. And last week, when she learned about the upcoming hearing, she emailed the committee members, urging them “to end the madness.”
Woods told senators that her abuse lasted seven years.
“While he went on to become a globally recognized author, leader in the charismatic movement, founder of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City and serial sexual predator,” she wrote, “I was silenced by my state’s law and left to bear the consequences of his abuse for decades.”
It’s time, she said, to honor what long-term research and trauma studies “now irrefutably prove concerning PTSD, dissociation, delayed recall and trauma-based silence.”
“Regardless of what the lobbying voices of greed and power declare, no victim should ever be told that they have aged out of justice.”
‘Give victims back their voices’
Passage of the measures, Woods said, would hold predators accountable and give victims back their voices that trauma silenced throughout the decades.
“I implore you to not let one more session pass that allows predators to be shielded by time and agency to be taken from victims because Missouri law has not reformed as research has advanced,” she said.
Allegations made against Bickle by multiple women surfaced in October 2023. Bickle, now 70, issued his only public statement about the allegations in December 2023, admitting that he had “sinned” and “my moral failures were real.” Eleven days later, IHOPKC announced it was “immediately, formally and permanently” separating from its founder. Bickle has not been charged with any crimes.
In February 2025, an independent investigation found that Bickle committed sexual abuse or misconduct against 17 women — including minors — over decades, amid a thriving culture of systemic abuse and coverups.
Hudson, who is a pastor, said he expects to hear some powerful testimony at next week’s hearing.
“There are going to be some brave people telling their story once again,” he said. “These survivors, I draw strength from their courage and bravery. Their willingness to sit at a microphone in front of a Senate committee and talk about the things that have happened to them, that cannot be easy.
“And yet they are willing to do this because they know that there are others that could end up in the same situation that they were in if we don’t do something to change Missouri law.”
