「性侵害」，特別是以兒童為對象的性侵害行為，常被視為「挑戰社會道德底線」的罪大惡極之罪。然而根據我國衛生福利部保護服務司之統計，2022年通報的性侵害案件被害人總共有8,401人，其中有高達一半以上之被害人皆為未滿18歲之未成年人。美國的研究亦顯示，在美國約有1/4的女性以及1/5或1/6的男性於孩童時期曾有過被性侵害之經驗。如此高的盛行率，通常被認為跟兒童或未成年人身心各方面都未臻成熟，而容易被成年人引誘、操控有關。這些經歷對年幼被害人所造成之影響，是非常深遠的，其中包含了短期與長期生理及心理上的各種負面影響，甚至可導致其進入青少年或成年階段的各種行為問題。有鑑於此，自1980年代開始，美國各州政府即開始了一連串針對性侵犯的立法運動。修法範圍包含刑事訴訟程序中相關證據法則之適用、對於性侵犯各種監控政策之施行（如登記公告制度、民事監護及衛星定位追蹤）等。從2000年年中開始，肇始於天主教教會性侵案件之衝擊，2000年後之修法則著重在修改追訴權時效於兒童性侵害案件之適用，以幫助被害人及司法體系擺脫追訴權時效之束縛而能不受時間限制的追究及制裁行為人過去之性侵行為。除此之外，自1995年開始，部分州亦重新檢討以兒童為對象之性侵害行為之刑罰，其中，路易斯安那州甚至將性侵兒童行為的最重法定刑調高至死刑。本文即擬針對前述死刑及追訴權時效於兒童性侵案件之適用，從這兩種修法方向來進一步探究美國近20年來為了對抗兒童性侵犯所採取的刑事政策。

“Sexual assault”, especially sexual assault against children, is often regarded as a heinous crime that “challenges the bottom line of social morality”. However, according to statistics from the Department of Protective Services of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, there were a total of 8,401 victims of sexual assault cases reported in 2022, of which more than half were minors under the age of 18. Research in the United States also shows that about 1/4 of women and 1/5 or 1/6 of men in the United States have experienced sexual abuse during their childhood. Such a high prevalence rate is usually considered to be related to the fact that children or minors are immature physically and mentally and are easily seduced and manipulated by adults. These experiences also have a profound impact on young victims. These include various short-term and long-term physical and psychological negative effects, and can even lead to various behavioral problems in adolescence or adulthood. Therefore, since the 1980s, state governments in the United States have begun a series of legislative campaigns targeting sexual assault. The scope of the revised law includes the application of relevant evidence rules in criminal proceedings, the implementation of various monitoring policies for sexual assault (such as registration and notification systems, civil commitment and GPS tracking, etc.). Beginning in the mid-2000s, starting with the impact of sexual abuse cases in the Catholic Church, the post-2000 law amendments focused on modifying the application of the criminal statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases to help victims and the judicial system escape the constraints of the statute of limitations, and can investigate and sanction perpetrators for past sexual assaults without time limits. In addition, since 1995, some states have also begun to review the penalties for sexual assault against children. Among them, Louisiana has even raised the maximum statutory penalty for sexual assault against children to death. This article intends to further explore the criminal policies adopted in the United States in the past 20 years to combat child sexual abuse in the two legislative directions of the aforementioned application of the death penalty and the criminal statute of limitations to child sexual abuse cases.