RANDOLPH COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — A survivor of a sexual assault years ago said Tuesday she wants to ensure others get the day in court she never got.

Carissa Siekmann was sexually assaulted more than 20 years ago when she was a senior in high school. She said there was a video of the assault, and she was willing to testify at the time. Instead, she said a police detective told her authorities discontinued their investigation after one of her attackers expressed remorse.

“I felt very let down because I was willing to go forward even though I was terrified,” she said. “I felt like the system and the community with the people involved failed me.”

Siekmann said she has tried to reopen her case in the years since but was unable to do so due to Indiana’s statute of limitations. Under state law, sexual assaults are classified as Level 1 felonies if they involve a deadly weapon or drugs, in which case there is no statute of limitations. If they don’t, as in Siekmann’s case, they are classified as a Level 3 felony, for which the statute of limitations is five years.

“It is disheartening to know there is no way that I could ever have justice for myself,” she said.

Beth White, the president, and CEO of the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking, said it takes survivors of sexual assault years to come to terms with what happened to them and heal enough that they feel willing to testify against their attacker if they ever do. She said five years is often not enough time to go through this process, especially if the person is very young.

“It is never true that a sexual assault survivor can say, ‘I am done with my trauma, I am over the situation,’” she said. “Many survivors do not want to engage with the criminal legal system. They do not believe it is something that is in their interest. They are not physically or emotionally able or willing to file a police report and go to court.”

White said all the states surrounding Indiana have loosened their statutes of limitations in recent years. Illinois and Kentucky have eliminated theirs entirely for all or most types of sexual assault, while Ohio’s is set at 25 years, five times the length of Indiana’s time limit. She said the change would not affect the standards of evidence the courts use at trial. White said the goal is to give more survivors of sexual assault their day in court.

For Siekmann, the last straw came when her sister, who also was sexually assaulted as a teenager, tried to take her own life two years ago.

“That’s when I knew that, going forward, we need to make change for Indiana,” she said. “I hope that my story and her story can be a voice for change.”

Siekmann said she will lobby the General Assembly this session to eliminate the statute of limitations for all forms of sexual assault. She said she has spent the past two years talking to survivors as well as advocates such as White about the best ways to do so. She also has circulated a petition urging lawmakers to change the law. The petition already has more than 4,200 signatures, many of them from survivors of sexual assault.

Help is available for victims of domestic violence. Below is a list of suggested resources on the Domestic Violence Network website:

• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 or text START to 88788
• National Domestic Violence Hotline en español: 800-799-7233 o texto “START” al 88788
• Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence: 24-hour hotline available at 800-332-7385
• Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking
• La Plaza Indy
• The Julian Center
• Indiana Child Abuse Hotline: 800-800-5556
• National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-4673