Article 21: Special Proceedings and Actions · Last amended 2010 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section gives a plaintiff three years to file a civil action under the Exploited Children’s Civil Remedy Act, with that period starting from whichever of three triggering events — the end of a related criminal prosecution, law enforcement notice identifying the responsible person, or the child turning eighteen — happens last.
Full Text of § 25-21,293
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Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, any action to recover damages under the Exploited Children's Civil Remedy Act shall be filed within three years after the later of:
(1) The conclusion of any related criminal prosecution against the person or persons from whom recovery is sought;
(2) The receipt of actual or constructive notice sent or given to the participant or portrayed observer or his or her parent or legal guardian by a member of a law
enforcement entity informing the participant or portrayed observer or his or her parent or legal guardian that the entity has identified the person:
(a) Who created, distributed, or actively acquired the visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct containing the participant or portrayed observer; or
(b) Who aided or assisted another person with the creation, distribution, or active acquisition of the visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct containing the participant or portrayed observer; or
(3) The participant or portrayed observer reaching the age of eighteen years.
Source
Laws 2010, LB728, § 4.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-21,293 sets the limitation period for a civil action under the Exploited Children’s Civil Remedy Act at three years, and it fixes the starting point by picking the latest of three possible triggers rather than the earliest.
The three-year clock begins when the last of these occurs: the conclusion of any related criminal prosecution against the person or persons from whom recovery is sought; the participant or portrayed observer, or a parent or legal guardian, receiving actual or constructive notice from a law enforcement entity identifying the person who created, distributed, or actively acquired the depiction, or who aided or assisted with it; or the participant or portrayed observer turning eighteen. Because the statute measures from whichever of these comes latest, a child who was young at the time of the exploitation, and whose identifying evidence surfaces only years later through a criminal investigation, keeps a viable claim well beyond what a simple three-year rule running from the underlying conduct would allow.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a plaintiff have to file a civil action under the Exploited Children’s Civil Remedy Act?
Three years, measured from the latest of three specific triggering events.
What are the three events that can start the three-year clock?
The conclusion of a related criminal prosecution against the person from whom recovery is sought; receipt of law enforcement notice identifying that person; or the participant or portrayed observer reaching eighteen.
Does the clock start from the earliest or the latest of those three events?
The latest. The statute measures three years from whichever of the three events happens last.
What if there is no related criminal prosecution?
The limitation period still runs from whichever of the remaining applicable triggers — law enforcement notice or the participant turning eighteen — occurs last.
Why does the statute tie the deadline to law enforcement notice instead of just the date of the underlying conduct?
Because the identity of the person who created, distributed, or acquired the depiction, or who aided or assisted with it, may not be known to the victim until a law enforcement entity identifies that person, sometimes long after the conduct occurred.
Source & verification. Section text and the amendment-history citation are
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes, enacted by the
Nebraska Legislature. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
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