Child Sex Abuse Bill Dead in New York, or Mostly Dead

Child-sex abuse bill unlikely to pass legislature before legislative session ends Thursday

Even if Speaker Carl Heastie (r.) gets the bill passed through the Assembly, its fate in the Senate, led by Majority Leader John Flanagan (l.), is unknown. (MIKE GROLL/AP)

BY KENNETH LOVETT    NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

ALBANY — The longtime sponsor of a bill to help victims of child sex abuse seek justice on Tuesday declared the measure dead for the current legislative session.

Assemblywoman Margaret Markey (D-Queens) said she doesn’t expect a deal to be reached by Gov. Cuomo, the Assembly, and Senate before the session ends on Thursday.

Markey said the Assembly is not even likely to take up a bill it had drafted on the issue until after the fall elections at the earliest.

“This is an election year and why put some people in jeopardy if the bill is not going anywhere (in the Senate)?” she said.

But a spokesman for Speaker Carl Heastie was quick to deny a decision on the fate of the Assembly bill has been made.

He said a vote could come at any time on the bill that would extend the time child sex abuse victims can bring cases by five years, open a six-month window to revive old cases, and treat public and private entities equally when it comes to child sex abuse cases.


Melanie Blow, COO of the Stop Abuse Campaign, is one of many advocates lobbying the Senate to make their case. (JEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)

Even if it passes, the GOP-led Senate is not expected to take up the measure, which is opposed by the Catholic Church over the six-month window for old cases and by some victim advocates who don’t think the legislation goes far enough.

Markey said she is disappointed another legislative session is seemingly coming to an end without a law being adopted to help survivors of child sex abuse.

“I feel in a sense I’m letting the victims down,” she said. “But I’m not giving up.”

She said she is hopeful the issue will face a better reception in the Senate if the Democrats can grab control of the majority in the November elections.

“I really think the Senate will turn,” she said.


Assemblywoman Margaret Markey (l.) joined by her Child Victims Act co-sponsor, Sen. Brad Hoylman (r.), said she was disappointed in the legislature's inaction on this important issue. (JEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)

Senate Democratic Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins urged state leaders to strike a last-minute deal that will aid victims.

“We have two days left,” Stewart-Cousins said. “This bill is crucial and unfortunately we may be waiting on a miracle now. I just hope that everyone understands how important this is and we commit to providing justice to the victims of these heinous crimes.”

The Senate Democrats introduced the most comprehensive version of the Child Victims Act, only to watch the Senate GOP block it from coming to the floor.

The bill would have done away entirely with the statute of limitations on criminal and civil child sex abuse cases and opened a one-year window to revive old cases. And like the Assembly bill, it would have treated public and private entities the same when it comes to child sex abuse cases.

Advocates on Tuesday were trying to cling to hope, with some traveling to the Capitol to make their case outside the Senate.

“I am convinced that everything we do this year will get us closer to the result we want,” said Melanie Blow, of Stop Abuse Campaign. “It is horrible that we have a building full of politicians who think protecting children will cost them an election. I think that shows where the problem is.”

Let's make it Not protecting children will cost them the election. Make the GOP Senators pay for their lack of empathy for victims and their obvious support of the perpetrators. They should be ashamed and they should be thrown out of office.

Lobbying is Working on Governor Cuomo

Cuomo stands for justice for child sexual assault victims

Governor Cuomo Stepping up (SUSAN WATTS/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

For a full two hours, Gov. Cuomo on Thursday engaged with men and women who suffered sex abuse as minors and are pressing Albany to reform statutes of limitations that deny justice to countless victims.

Kudos to Cuomo for affording the citizen activists the attention they deserve — and continue to be denied by leaders of the state Legislature.

While Cuomo explored the difficult legal and moral questions surrounding rewriting civil and criminal statutes of limitations, legislative leaders arrogantly maintained their anti-democratic practice of conducting the people’s business behind closed doors.

Republican Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan and Democratic Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie refused to answer even the most basic questions about their positions.

Daily News readers will know that this newspaper has campaigned since March for reforms to criminal and civil statutes of limitations for sex crimes against minors. The case of an alleged serial predator who could not be prosecuted on some accusations cried out for rewriting the law.

Since then, widespread injustices emerged from the complexities of New York’s criminal and civil legal time limits.

The denial of recourse to hundreds, if not thousands, of victims is so clear that any reasonable observer would have expected elected officials to rush forward like knights to the rescue.

But no. At first, Cuomo offered only meaningless statements of good intentions. Heastie and Flanagan consigned victims to meet with aides.

That changed Wednesday evening, when the governor’s office said he would back a measure that would:

• Eliminate the statute of limitations on criminal sex offenses against minors.

The Legislature had done so for the most serious crimes, such as rape, but left the clock ticking on others, notably those involving manual molestation. Cuomo’s on the side of the angels here.

• Scrap a provision that requires filing a notice within 90 days of wrongdoing in order to sue a government agency on an allegation of sex abuse.

Rightly, the governor recognizes that private and public employers must face equal liability.

• Extend the statute of limitations on civil actions in a time frame that “allows victims an opportunity at seeking the justice they deserve, while at the same time ensuring due process.”

By due process, Cuomo refers to statutes of limitations as offering necessary protections against being charged with wrongdoing long after the fact, when the accused may have lost the ability to mount a proper defense.

The time limit to sue an abuser is now five years after an alleged victim turns 18 — and just three years after 18 to sue a potentially guilty institution.

Coming to grips with the psychological scars of abuse can take years. Many victims are unprepared to go to court by 23, let alone 21. They should be given at least to the age of 28 and far better to the age of 35.

In his public statement, the governor left a blank on giving past victims one year to file suits.

Those who oppose the provision worry that potential defendants, such as a Catholic diocese or schools of other faiths, could face large, potentially bankrupting monetary judgments.

While the concern is real, there should be greater trust in the courts to sift legitimate claims. Opponents must reckon with the truth that they are placing financial interests over the deep, life-scarring harm inflicted on minors by monsters.

They’re protecting predators and enablers, only because of money. May Cuomo’s meeting with victims lead to an end to that abomination.

Please keep up the pressure on Gov. Cuomo to go all the way with this and allow a window for those over 23 to sue their molesters and the institutions that enabled them.

Teacher Starts Campaign to End 2-Year Statute of Limitations of Child Sex Abuse on Guam

New Guam campaign against child sex abuse

A school teacher in Guam says child sexual abuse is a huge problem on the island and he has launched a campaign to help correct it.

Joe Santos started a petition which he planned to take to the Guam Legislature to compel it to remove a two-year statute of limitations for civil claims relating to child sexual abuse.

He said abuse had been swept under the rug in the past, but he decided to take action after students came forward to say they had been victims.


Tumon Beach, Guam

He said the two year time limit on civil claims could deny them justice

"By the time they become emotionally mature enough, psychologically capable of confronting their perpetrators their hands are tied. And then when they do become, at this point of time the way the laws a written by the time they are psychologically prepared and possibly financially capable what is the reason for bringing it out? There is not going to be any closure."

Joe Santos said he had collected about 500 signatures for the Silent No More Campaign so far, but was aiming for thousands.

Good for you Joe, You are my hero today. God bless you.

Statute of Limitations for Child Sex Abuse in New York Must Go

Child Sex Abuse Laws

Editor, New York Times,
Re “In Court for Cover-Up, Hastert Admits Sex Abuse” (front page, April 28):

If not for a criminal investigation into the illegal bank transactions of J. Dennis Hastert, the former Republican speaker of the House, the survivors he abused as young boys may have never seen him behind bars. Tragically, many abusers simply run out the clock in states where the statutes of limitation for child sexual abuse expire shortly after survivors reach adulthood.

In New York, for example, victims of most forms of childhood sex abuse must file criminal or civil litigation by their 23rd birthday or their standing expires. With a startling 1 in 10 American children being sexually abused before 18 and tremendous pressure on child victims to remain silent, we must ensure much greater access to justice in our courts.

This is why Safe Horizon, which helped 5,337 child abuse survivors last year alone, supports legislation before the New York Legislature that would greatly expand the ability of adult survivors to seek civil and criminal damages and create a one-year window to retroactively file civil damages against their offenders.

Mr. Hastert’s case is a wake-up call. Legislatures should pass these long-overdue statute-of-limitation bills now.

MICHAEL POLENBERG

Vice President, Government Affairs

Safe Horizon

New York

Please , if you are in New York, let your state Representative know you support this bill.

Alaska Guts Erin's Law - Children at Risk to Pedophiles

The following is a Facebook post by Erin Merryn, the originator and driving force behind Erin's Law. And as you read below, you will see that she is a force to be reckoned with. But right now, she needs some help. What can you do?

"Erin's Law will give children a fighting chance, a voice, and the tools to help protect themselves. It should be passed in all 50 states. Common sense.
It's as simple as that. "
Actress Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)

While Erin's Law has been passed in 23 states with few or no alterations, the Alaskan legislation is in the process of emasculating the bill. Each and every change weakens the bill without question. It should be passed as is.

http://www.erinmerryn.net/erins-law.html

Erin Merryn:
I am so FED up with Alaska legislators and the games they are playing at the expense of children's lives. New York is going in a better direction with Erin's Law right now than Alaska. 

Alaska Chair of Education yesterday changed the entire version of Erin's Law making it optional for schools to teach, parents must opt in students to do it, and so many other terrible things that go against the original version....

That isn't Erin's Law and I will NOT include it in the list of states that have passed Erin's Law if they pass it that way. That is no different than Erin's Law in any of the states that haven't passed it.
Any state can do it optional without it passing as a law. 

The Governor requested a special session for Erin's Law and they are destroying the bill. I ask everyone, not just the people of Alaska, to:

Write Senator Dunleavy to pass the ORIGINAL version of Erin's Law NOW! 

Write Senator.Mike.Dunleavy@akleg.gov and 

write Gov.alllegislators@alaska.gov telling them to pass the original version of Erin's Law.

Everyone WRITE them and SHARE this!

Erin Merryn

Why would the Alaska leg. gut what is a perfectly good bill? Why make it optional? Without it, children at risk have few or no options. Little children very often have no idea what is right or wrong when it comes to intimate areas of their body. Many do not know that they can say 'no', or even that they should. They don't know who to tell about it or how to tell them. 

Why would you remove the opportunity for them to know that? Many sexually abused children are molested at the hands of their caregivers. To give those caregivers the option of opting out, is to condemn those children to continued sexual abuse.

Sexual abuse destroys lives. It destroys children and it destroys adults who were abused as children. Most of us never fully recover. Few of us lead lives that are anything close to normal.

Senator Dunleavy please get this bill passed as it is written. Don't gut it! Give the kids a chance.