Is it too late to file assault charges?

Question

Two and a half years ago, I was severely beaten. The incident stemmed from a near miss car collision in a parking deck. Words were exchanged. I walked away and the other guy came at me full force, tackled me to the ground and pounded my face six or seven times; leaving me bloodied and severely battered. This was an argument turned very ugly, but it was the other guy who lost control and resorted to violence. There were no witnesses. I was humiliated and ashamed and wanted to bury my head in the sand, but two days later I went to report the incident. The officer emphasized that it was my decision to press charges or not, but he "advised" me to be grateful I wasn't hurt more severely and to just move on. I did not file a report. I'm beyond enraged by what this guy did to me though and, what's worse, is that I still him around; so it's virtually impossible to let the wounds of this attack heal. I blame myself for not filing charges when I should have, but is it too late to do that now?

Answer 1

You can report a crime at any time, even after the incident.  the decision to file criminal charges is not by the investigators and the county attorneys.  They are the ones that build a case and determine if there is enough evidence to convict someone.   Even if they decide not to charge him, it might still make you feel better to have a police report done.

Answer 2

that would be a question for a lawyer, but I think you have 7yrs. and the cop was totaly in the wrong! He should have gotten your statement, then arrested the moron and put him in jail where he belongs!

Answer 3

Probably.  In most cases, the statue of limitations on as assault like that would only be a year and maybe 2.  Move on with your life.  Many of us have gotten our butts handed to us, and we get over it.  If you truely are having difficulties with that, then you may want to talk to a professional counselor.

Answer 4

It is possible that you can still press charges.  Most statute of limitations are two years for misdemeanors and felony offenses have a longer statute of limitation, and certain felony offenses such as murder, have no statute of limitation.

A lot of this would depend on whether the assault is severe enough to warrant a felony charge.  However, given that you declined to press charges originally, you have severely weakened your case.

As you likely lack any physical evidence of the assault and the defense will allege that there are other motives for you pursuing the case.