By Dan Murphy
The State Senate, led by Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins from Westchester, continues to pass legislation that members ran on last November and address items that were consistently blocked by the former republican State Senate majority.
Last week, it was the Child Victims Act, which reforms the statute of limitations for victims of child sexual abuse. The Child Victims Act will raise the criminal statute of limitations for child sexual abuse crimes by five years and raise the civil statute of limitations for causes of action brought by someone seeking redress for physical, psychological or other injury caused by child sexual abuse to age 55.
Additionally, this legislation will create a oneyear window, starting six months from the effective date of the bill, for past victims of child sexual abuse to initiate lawsuits against their abusers and the public and private institutions that let the abuse happen. The bill will eliminate onerous “notice of claim” requirements that create hurdles for victims to sue public institutions that negligently allowed the abuse to occur, during both the revival window and going forward.
“When we took up this fight for the Child Victims Act, none of us thought it was going to be this tough or take this long,” said Stewart-Cousins. “Government has a responsibility to stand up for the survivors of these heinous crimes. That is why the Senate Democratic majority has been fighting alongside survivors and advocates for years to pass the Child Victims Acts and remove the barriers that have been protecting predators. Justice is finally being delivered.”
The Child Victims Act passed by the Senate majority will:
* Extend the criminal statute of limitations for child sexual abuse offenses by five years, giving survivors until age 28 to press charges for felonies and age 25 for misdemeanors;
* Extend the statute of limitations in civil actions arising from child sexual abuse, which currently range from one to five years at most, to allow survivors to bring suits until they reach age 55;
* Create a one-year window during which presently time-barred civil claims could be revived.
* And permit claims against both public and private institutions by explicitly eliminating the notice of claim requirement for bringing suits against public institutions both prospectively and during the revival window.
Insurance companies and the Catholic Conference, which represents the Catholic dioceses in New York, have opposed the bill – and the extension of the look-back period, in particular. Their reasoning, that more claims would have to be paid out if more victims were allowed to file suit after the statute of limitations, were rejected by the new State Senate democratic majority.
Westchester District Attorney Anthony Scarpino Jr. supported the passage, saying: “Here in Westchester, we are committed to putting the safety of our children first. The passage of the Child Victims Act finally provides additional roads to justice for victims of child sexual abuse, especially victims who may only be able to reckon with their trauma later in life. We commend Gov. (Andrew) Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Andrea StewartCousins and the entire NYS Legislature for giving us new tools to prosecute those who prey on children.”
Actor and child abuse victim Corey Feldman spoke in favor of the bill. “Every child who was sexually abused should be able to get the justice that was denied to me,” he said. “The best way to protect children from abusers is to extend the statute of limitations and allow them to pursue justice when they’re ready. “To allow people like us to get justice. If you’re a victim, you should have every right to tell your story, and to try and get justice regardless of how long it took you to understand what happened to you. Personally, I am incensed that my morality was taken for granted.
“I am infuriated that I was never given the opportunity to go through the process of coming of age like most children were,” continued Feldman. “I was raped of my innocence – as was Corey Haim. That’s not okay; that’s not acceptable. For me, the only real justice is to – hopefully – one day see those guys that did this stuff to us face the consequences that they deserve. I pray every day that God’s will finds its way to them. I want to be a voice of strength for survivors who live in fear of bringing their predators to justice.”
Westchester State Senator Shelley Mayer said she is grateful that lawmakers have cleared a path to justice for the thousands of survivors of childhood sexual abuse by passing the Child Victims Act. “The current law has left victims without access to criminal justice, or their day in court for civil redress,” she said. “ I cannot express more strongly my intense admiration for their courage and persistence in publicly telling their stories and in finally getting this bill passed. I hope this bill will give them the tools to receive the justice, peace of mind and closure they deserve.”
The Child Victims Act passed the State Senate by a 63-0 vote, and passed the Assembly again, as it has for years. It now goes to Cuomo, who has expressed support for the bill, for his signature
