BALTIMORE (MD)
Baltimore Sun
Dan Rodricks
ACOUPLE of weeks from now, Kurt Gladsky, who says he was sexually abused while a student at a Catholic high school 36 years ago, will again leave his home in Florida, fly to Maryland and ask legislators here to open wider a window of justice.
For the second time in three years, Gladsky will testify in favor of legislation giving victims of childhood sexual abuse until they are 46 years old - that is, 28 years past the age of majority - to bring suit against those who molested them. Maryland law allows such lawsuits only before victims reach their 25th birthday; victims' advocates say that's not enough time. The House of Delegates bill, 1376, also asks for a one-year open filing period, so all victims, no matter their age, can sue.
In recent years, some states enacted extensions for filing civil actions, and some had wider windows on the books before the scandal in the Catholic church.
"Maryland is one of the most pedophile-friendly states in the country," says Joanne Suder, a Baltimore attorney with a specialty in pedophile and sexual abuse cases.
Posted by kshaw at March 4, 2005 06:15 AM