Bill Eliminating Civil Statute of Limitations Passes Senate, Goes to House
By Beth Miller
News Journal
April 5, 2007
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070405/NEWS/704050351/-1/NEWS01
Dover -- After more than three hours of testimony and a statement by one state senator that he, too, had been a victim of child molestation, the state Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed legislation that would eliminate the civil statute of limitations in child sexual-abuse cases and allow time for past victims to file claims.
The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Karen Peterson, D-Stanton, goes to the state House for consideration after legislators' two-week spring break.
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| Sen. John Still, R-Dover North, said he had been abused at age 6. |
"This is a great day," said Sean Dougherty, of Cochranville, Pa., whose abuse by a Capuchin friar was acknowledged publicly by the religious order last year.
Dougherty was among about 100 supporters of Senate Bill 29 who sat in the Senate gallery and rose in a standing ovation when the 19-0 vote was announced. Two senators were absent.
Four victims of child sexual abuse -- including two victims of incest and one of clergy abuse -- spoke to lawmakers, urging them to pass the bill. State Sen. John Still, R-Dover North, speaking from the floor, said he had been abused by a family friend when he was 6 years old.
"The bill will give us recourse," Still said. "Will it correct the problem? I don't know. ... But we've done the best we can with this bill."
Rep. Deborah Hudson, R-Fairthorne, will steer the bill through the House.
"I have to find out my ability to have [people speak]," Hudson said after the Senate vote. "They made the case. I'm ready to go for a unanimous vote in the House, too."
Sen. Steven Amick, R-Newark West, said victim testimony persuaded him on the issue he called "troublesome."
"The victims have significant stories," he said, "and they deserve redress of their grievances."
Dr. Janis Chester, a Dover psychiatrist, was the only person to speak against the bill Wednesday. She spoke at the request of Sen. F. Gary Simpson, R-Milford, and warned that psychiatrists still differ on whether memories of child sexual abuse can be lost and recovered, urging lawmakers to put some time limit on such cases so that false accusations are not made. She urged lawmakers to change the statute of limitations so the time-limit clock doesn't start ticking until a victim reaches his or her 18th birthday.
Dr. Carol Tavani, a neuropsychiatrist, said much research has been done to demonstrate the loss of memory in trauma victims and said false memories are relatively rare. She urged lawmakers to recognize that victims of such abuse often need years to acknowledge the abuse, and many never do.
Also among those testifying was the Rev. Thomas Doyle, a Dominican priest and canon lawyer who has researched, written and testified about the scandal of child sexual abuse by clergy since the mid-1980's. Doyle has worked with thousands of victims of clergy sexual abuse.
"This legislation will prove to be a blessing for the church and private institutions alike," Doyle said. "It will force them to re-evaluate what their mission is all about. ... You are helping to provide accountability, honesty and a rebirth into what it should be."
Marci Hamilton, a professor of constitutional law at Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University in New York City, urged lawmakers to provide legal means for victims to come forward.
"The statute of limitations permits the identities of the perpetrators to remain secret," Hamilton said. "Our legal system shuts the courthouse doors and none of us ever hears the names of the perpetrators."
She urged lawmakers to pass the two-year window, too, which would allow previously barred cases to go to court if they are filed within two years of the bill's passage. Only California has done that so far, allowing one year for old claims to be brought to suit.
The civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse now is two years in Delaware.
"This bill is about the children who had no power, no opportunity and no choice to bring their abuser to justice," Peterson said. "Who will speak for these children? Who will protect them? My hope is that it will be the 144th General Assembly."
Contact Beth Miller at 324-2784 or bmiller@delawareonline.com.
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