A California woman on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, came forward and said she was raped by Representative Eric Swalwell in 2018 and she now has plans to make a report to law enforcement.  Lonna Brewes said in a news conference that the assault occurred in a hotel in southern California.  She said she had one glass of wine that evening and believes that Swalwell drugged her before raping her.  Swalwell  dropped out of the California governor's race this past Sunday and said he would resign from Congress this week following earlier allegations of sexual assault from a different woman.  

This story brings to light a very challenging and very significant factor in sexual assault cases.  This woman was sexually assaulted in 2018, and she is just now coming forward some 8 years later.  It appears that she never made a police report when she was first assaulted.  

This is not uncommon.  Many survivors of sexual assault have significant feelings of guilt.  They wonder whether they did something to result in the sexual assault.  In the case of somebody like Representative Eric Swalwell, the assailant was somebody powerful and influential.  They are often afraid that they will not be believed or that the assailant will use their influence to avoid prosecution or to avoid being held accountable. 

One of the main messages of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center is, "We believe you".  

It is imperative for all survivors to know that if they have been the victim of sexual assault help is available.  In Ohio, you can reach out to the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center at (216) 619-6192 or at (440) 423-2020.  You can call either of those numbers or you can send a text to either of those numbers.  Sometimes it is easier to text about what occurred to you than it is to speak with someone.  

Here at The Dickson Firm, we have been standing up for survivors of sexual assault for over 30 years.  We have had an active partnership with the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center working with survivors, and also working to raise funds for the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center.  

Often when high profile sexual assaults are in the news, it forces survivors to relive what happened to them and sometimes they wonder where they can turn.  Sometimes they wonder if it is too late to pursue a claim for sexual assault.  

If the assault occurred when the person was age 18 or older, they have one (1) year from the date of the incident to bring a claim for sexual assault.  This is the same statute of limitations as any other civil claim for assault or battery.  If a person waits beyond one (1) year from the date they were assaulted, assuming they were assaulted at age 18 or older, then their claim is forever time-barred.  

However, if a person suffered sexual assault before the age of 18, if they were a minor at the time of the assault, they can bring the claim up until the age of 30.  Any time a person has a civil claim, as a minor, the time period for that claim does not begin to accrue until the person reaches 18.  A minor cannot bring a claim in their own name.  So the time period does not begin to expire until they turn 18.  Under a new statute that extends the time for survivors of sexual assault who are sexually assaulted when they were minors, they now have 12 years to bring that claim and the 12 year time period does not begin to expire until their 18th birthday and so they actually have until the age of 30 to bring a claim for sexual assault.  

If the defendant in a sexual assault case fraudulently concealed from the plaintiff facts forming the basis of the claim, then the expiration of the statute of limitations is tolled until the time when the plaintiff discovers or in the exercise of due diligence should have discovered those facts.  In other words, if the assailant conceals significant facts, the time period, whether it is 1 year in the case of adults or 12 years in the case of minors, does not even begin to expire until the survivor knew or should have known those important facts.  

As indicated above, oftentimes when the news reports incidents of sexual assault involving famous people, politicians, etc., survivors may have intense emotions about what happened to them.  On a daily basis, we see news about Jeffrey Epstein, and his victims.  Recently, Sean Combs, the music producer and rapper went to prison for his activities.  We have heard myriad stories about Harvey Weinstein.  There have been a number of stories about politicians in the news engaged in sexual assault.  

If you are a survivor of sexual assault, you are encouraged to call us here at The Dickson Firm  at 1 800 OHIO-LAW.  We would be happy to talk with you and help you in any way that we can.