Sexual Assault Attorneys in Mississippi: Your Complete Legal Guide

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Mississippi has no limitation statute written for childhood sexual abuse. Two general periods can apply: three years under Miss. Code § 15-1-49, and one year under § 15-1-35 for a claim framed as assault and battery. Both are paused for a child until the disability of infancy ends; CHILD USA reads the three-year rule as a practical deadline of the survivor’s 21st birthday, and the one-year rule would end two years earlier, so the shorter date is the safe one to plan around. No law has ever revived an expired claim. On the criminal side, rape and the listed child sex offenses can be prosecuted at any time. Below are those rules, the open questions to raise with a lawyer, and four firms that take Mississippi cases.

Dial 911 if you are in danger. The Mississippi Coalition Against Sexual Assault lists a toll-free number, 1-888-987-9011, and the National Sexual Assault Hotline is 1-800-656-4673.

The statutory text below is quoted from CHILD USA’s review of the Mississippi Code, which CHILD USA reports checking against primary sources on September 5, 2026, except § 15-1-35, which is from FindLaw’s text dated January 1, 2025. What follows explains the rules in general terms and does not assess any individual claim.

The Civil Deadlines: One Year or Three

Section 15-1-49(1) provides: “All actions for which no other period of limitation is prescribed shall be commenced within three (3) years next after the cause of such action accrued, and not after.” CHILD USA notes that Mississippi has no separate section for childhood sexual abuse, no age-based extension, and no institutional-liability provision, so these claims run on the general periods.

The three-year rule covers only actions with no other prescribed period, and § 15-1-35 prescribes one: “All actions for assault, assault and battery, maiming, false imprisonment, malicious arrest, or menace … shall be commenced within one (1) year next after the cause of such action accrued, and not after.” A claim against the abuser framed as assault and battery therefore runs on one year; a negligence claim against an organization runs on three. How each claim is framed is a decision to make with a lawyer early.

Abuse of a Child: Paused Until Majority

Section 15-1-59 provides: “If any person entitled to bring any of the personal actions mentioned shall, at the time at which the cause of action accrued, be under the disability of infancy or unsoundness of mind, he may bring the actions within the times in this chapter respectively limited, after his disability shall be removed as provided by law.”

CHILD USA concludes that for a survivor abused as a child “the three years therefore begins at majority, giving a practical deadline of the twenty-first birthday.” Section 15-1-59 pauses the one-year period in § 15-1-35 in the same way, so a battery claim against the abuser would close one year after the disability ends. The age at which the disability of infancy ends for this purpose decides the exact date, so it should be confirmed for the survivor’s own case.

The Latent-Injury Discovery Rule

Section 15-1-49(2) delays accrual in one situation: “In actions for which no other period of limitation is prescribed and which involve latent injury or disease, the cause of action does not accrue until the plaintiff has discovered, or by reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury.” CHILD USA observes that this rule “is not written for sexual abuse and would have to be argued into it.” Whether it can extend a particular survivor’s deadline is a question for a lawyer, not a rule to count on.

Adults: One Year Against the Assailant

For an adult, a claim against the assailant for assault and battery falls under the one-year period in § 15-1-35, counted from when the cause of action accrued. A negligence claim against a property owner, employer, or other organization has the three-year period in § 15-1-49. One year leaves little time, so an adult survivor should see a lawyer promptly.

Mississippi Has Never Revived Expired Claims

CHILD USA reports that neither § 15-1-49 nor § 15-1-59 revives claims barred under earlier law. The one retroactivity clause, § 15-1-49(3), applies the latent-injury rule “to all pending and subsequently filed actions,” which changes when a claim accrues but brings back nothing already barred.

Claims Against Organizations and Public Bodies

Because no statute addresses institutions specifically, a claim against a school, church, employer, or youth program rests on ordinary negligence law, under the same three-year period and minority pause. Claims against a public school district, county, or state agency can also involve the Mississippi Tort Claims Act’s notice and filing rules, which this guide does not set out and which should be raised at the first meeting.

Criminal Deadlines Under § 99-1-5

Prosecution is the state’s decision. As amended by S.B. 2338, approved March 19, 2026, § 99-1-5(1)(a) provides that “[t]he passage of time shall never bar prosecution” for listed offenses including rape, touching or handling a child for lustful purposes under § 97-5-23, sexual battery of a child under § 97-3-95(1)(c), (d) or (2), exploitation of children, and human trafficking.

General sexual battery under § 97-3-95(1)(a) or (b) is unlimited only “when the identity of the accused is later discovered due to results of DNA testing of biological evidence.” Other offenses fall under § 99-1-5(2): “A person shall not be prosecuted for any other offense not listed in this section unless the prosecution for the offense is commenced within two (2) years after the commission thereof.” CHILD USA notes that a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old victim charged under the general sexual battery limbs can fall under that two-year rule. A civil claim does not depend on any prosecution.

Working Out a Mississippi Deadline

With deadlines this short, the first meeting should settle dates. Bring the survivor’s date of birth, the dates of the abuse, when any injury was recognized, and the names of every person and organization involved, and ask:

  1. When do the one-year and three-year periods end, counting the § 15-1-59 pause for infancy?
  2. Is there a factual basis for the latent-injury rule in § 15-1-49(2)?
  3. For an adult assault, which claims are framed as assault and battery under the one-year rule, and which as negligence under three years?
  4. Is any defendant a public entity subject to Mississippi Tort Claims Act notice?
  5. Did anyone conceal the abuse in a way that could affect when the claim accrued?
  6. Does the firm represent the Diocese of Jackson, a school district, or an insurer that may be a defendant?

Mississippi Sexual Assault Attorneys

The Cochran Firm – Jackson

The Cochran Firm Jackson is the Mississippi office of one of the country’s largest and most recognized plaintiff’s litigation firms. Founded on the legacy of Johnnie Cochran and now operating nationally with regional offices across the country, the firm has secured over $35 billion in verdicts, settlements, and judgments for clients including sexual assault survivors, civil rights victims, personal injury plaintiffs, and wrongful death claimants. The Jackson office handles personal injury, civil rights, and sexual assault claims throughout Mississippi, with access to national resources, expert networks, and litigation infrastructure. The Jackson office works closely with The Cochran Firm Mississippi Delta office to extend reach across the state. Free consultation. Contingency fee basis.

Levy Konigsberg LLP (Mississippi Practice)

Levy Konigsberg is a national institutional sexual abuse firm that has recovered over $3 billion in compensation for survivors nationally, including survivors in Mississippi. The firm has handled clergy abuse, school abuse, and other institutional misconduct cases across the state and is an active participant in diocese disclosure litigation nationally. Free confidential consultation. Contingency fee basis.

Jeff Anderson & Associates, P.A. (Mississippi Practice)

Jeff Anderson & Associates is the pioneering national institutional child sexual abuse firm that has handled clergy abuse cases in Mississippi including the Diocese of Jackson. In 2006, the Diocese of Jackson agreed to pay over $5.1 million to settle six lawsuits involving 19 survivors of clergy sexual abuse. Jeff Anderson & Associates has been at the forefront of forcing dioceses nationwide to release priest abuse files and has represented thousands of survivors in cases against Catholic institutions, schools, youth organizations, and other institutional defendants. The firm handles cases nationally and accepts Mississippi institutional abuse cases on a contingency basis. Free confidential consultation.

Brown, Bass & Jeter, PLLC

Brown, Bass & Jeter is a Jackson civil rights firm that handles civil rights violations including sexual assault claims against public officials, law enforcement, and institutions acting under color of law. The firm represents survivors of assault by government actors including law enforcement officers and government-employed officials, pursuing claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for constitutional violations including excessive force, unlawful detention, and civil assault and battery. Free consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

I was abused at 10 and I am now 23. Is my claim barred in Mississippi?

Under CHILD USA’s reading of §§ 15-1-49 and 15-1-59, the three years run from majority, with a practical deadline of the 21st birthday, and a battery claim under the one-year rule in § 15-1-35 would have closed earlier. A lawyer should check whether the latent-injury rule or concealment changes the accrual date before treating the claim as barred.

Is there a special deadline for childhood sexual abuse?

No. Mississippi has no statute written for it; the general periods apply, one year for a claim framed as assault and battery and three years otherwise, both paused until the disability of infancy ends.

Has Mississippi ever had a revival window?

No. CHILD USA found no revival provision in Mississippi law, past or present.

Can rape be prosecuted years later?

Yes. Rape is on the list in § 99-1-5(1)(a) that “the passage of time shall never bar.”

Support and Reporting Lines

  • Emergency: 911
  • Mississippi Coalition Against Sexual Assault (toll-free): 1-888-987-9011
  • Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence (toll-free): 1-800-898-3234
  • National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673

Sources