BishopAccountability.org
	Bill Will Extend Child Sex Abuse Civil Suits By Barbara Pash Baltimore Jewish Times February 18, 2008 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/article/bill_will_extend_ child_sex_abuse_civil_suits/ A bill to extend the statute of limitations in civil suits related to child sexual abuse is being considered in the Maryland General Assembly. The bill was introduced by Del. Eric Bromwell (D-8h), of Baltimore County. It is based on a similar bill that was unsuccessfully introduced last year by Sen. James Brochin (D-42nd), also of Baltimore County. "The two bills are slightly different in wording," Mr. Bromwell said of his HB 858 and Mr. Brochin's 2007 SB 575, "but the intent is the same." HB 858 would increase the statute of limitations within which a victim may bring a civil claim from the current seven years after turning age 18 to 32 years after age 18. In order to qualify, the victim must provide a certificate of merit from an attorney and a psychiatrist or psychologist. In addition, HB 858 contains a one-year, four-month-long "window," starting January 1, 2009, during which victims for whom even the extended statute of limitations has passed may bring a claim under certain conditions. Mr. Bromwell said he was spurred to introduce the bill because he has met victims of child sexual abuse through his professional and personal life. "It's one of the most heinous of crimes," said Mr. Bromwell, who is employed in private industry. Victims often have difficulty acknowledging the abuse until later in life, he continued. "People are getting out of college, starting their families and for victims of abuse, that's usually not the case. They may have difficulty with relationships and employment. I know many cases where people come forward well after their 25th birthday." Other bills dealing with child sex abuse and the time frame for civil suits have been introduced in the General Assembly over the years. The current statute of limitations is the result of a 2003 bill. In 2006, Mr. Bromwell and then-Del. Pauline Menes unsuccessfully co-sponsored a bill to extend the age to 42 years. The bill passed in the House of Delegates but failed in the Senate committee. Mr. Brochin's bill in 2007 met a similar fate. His bill had a window to file claims regardless of the victim's current age, but it also failed in the Senate committee to which it was assigned for a hearing. Mr. Bromwell said he had talked with Mr. Brochin about the latter cross-filing a Senate version of his bill. "But in the end, I decided to have the bill only in the House. His Senate bill didn't make it out of committee, so I decided to take a different approach," said Mr. Bromwell. Mr. Bromwell also decided to put a cap on the statute of limitations rather than extending it indefinitely, as Mr. Brochin's bill had. "It may not be what everyone wants but I have an obligation to put in legislation that has a chance to pass," said Mr. Bromwell. Mr. Brochin is outspoken about the intense pressure he came under last year while his bill was being considered. He talks specifically of the Maryland Catholic Conference, the public policy group of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Archdiocese of Wilmington and Diocese of Wilmington. Petitions against him were passed out at Catholic churches, Mr. Brochin claimed. Alumni of Calvert Hall, a Catholic high school in Baltimore County, were told that tuition would be raised because of his bill, resulting in hundreds of e-mails from them. "It got brutal, ugly and intense," said Mr. Brochin, who added that he "did not get pressure from other organizations" on the bill. As it happens, Mr. Bromwell is a graduate of Calvert Hall. Nonetheless, people attending Catholic churches have been asked to contact him about the bill, he said, and he is feeling heat from the Catholic Conference, "more so than on any other issue I've had in my six years here." "The legislation is being seen as aimed at the Catholic Church. But it's clearly a bigger issue than that. It spans many religions and organizations. It's not fair to classify it as aimed at the church," said Mr. Bromwell. Mr. Brochin agreed. He has been following the series in the BALTIMORE JEWISH TIMES written by executive editor Phil Jacobs about allegations of child sex abuse in the Baltimore Jewish community. "The work that Phil did is incredibly important," said Mr. Brochin. "It showed this is not only a Catholic question. We have to give everyone a chance for justice." A civil suit requires what Mr. Brochin called a "discovery process," during which information must be supplied by whomever the suit is against, whether "it's the Archdiocese or [Yisroel] Shapiro," about whom Mr. Jacobs wrote and for whom an April 1 court date has been set. "It's important to open the books and find out if anyone else is doing this and where they are," Mr. Brochin said of the discovery process. Phone calls to the Maryland Catholic Conference were not returned by press time. The Maryland Jewish Alliance is "probably not" taking a position on Mr. Bromwell's bill, according to Melody McCoy McEntee, director of government relations and public policy for the Baltimore Jewish Council, an agency of The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore The alliance is the lobbying coalition of the Associated, BJC and the Washington, D.C. federation and groups. "That is a tort reform bill," Ms. McEntee said of Mr. Bromwell's bill. "We are trying to expend our energy on other things that prevent child abuse, not so much tort reform. It's not an issue that is unique to the Jewish community." Ms. McEntee said the alliance is supporting two House bills, HB 400 and HB 410, that deal with neglect of a child and that require reporting instances of such. "Our position is, we are focusing on prevention and treatment. We are trying to do all we can to make sure that kids are not abused and if they are, they are getting to treatment," she said. Mr. Bromwell's bill is not scheduled for a hearing until March 20. However, on Tues. Feb. 19, more than a dozen House bills dealing with sex offenders are being heard in committee. Mr. Brochin said the large number of bills reflects a growing public awareness of the problem. "Legislators are hearing from their constituents," he said. "Despite some gains, we haven't gone far enough." Several experts said that Mr. Bromwell's bill, to extend the statute of limitations, is particularly important. In the "survivor community," said Dr. Mesa Leventhal-Baker, medical director of the Baltimore Child Abuse Center, "they feel left out, at a loss how to finish some of these cases or to move on. When they finally come forward, they have no legal form to do so." It wasn't until the 1980s that the issue of child sex abuse came to attention, spurred by a number of highly publicized cases across the country. "Maryland was behind the curve but we are now seeing some improvement in the state," she said. "But some communities, the Jewish community in particular, is still behind the times in recognizing this as an issue." Vicki Polin, of The Awareness Center: The Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault, an international organization based in Baltimore, echoed the sentiment. "A bill like this is absolutely important. Most people don't come forward until they are in their 40s and 50s, when they start reflecting on their life," she said. Dr. Joyce Silberg is coordinator of the trauma services for children at Sheppard Pratt Hospital and executive vice president of the Leadership Council, a coalition of child abuse experts who promote information and education of the public and media. According to Dr. Silberg, the abuse a person undergoes is often not fully understood until adulthood. "The triggers can be having their own kids, or their own kids reaching the age they were when they were abused," said Dr. Silberg who, in her private practice, has seen many such examples. "These are powerful memory triggers." Dr. Silberg has written a chapter for a new book on sexual abuse in the Jewish community. Titled "When The Vow Breaks," it will be published by Brandeis University Press in 2009. She interviewed several people in the Jewish community, including Mr. Jacobs. "This is not just a Catholic issue," she said of child sexual abuse, "and the purpose of the book is to show that." However, there is a difference in the legislative arena. The Catholic Church is "highly organized and centralized, so when they lobby against a bill they can be a formidable opponent," Dr. Silberg continued. "If a rabbi is accused of this, the rabbi or his congregation might lobby against a bill but it's not the whole Jewish religion." Mr. Bromwell does not know if his bill this year will be any more successful than Mr. Brochin's bill was last year. A number of states of have similar legislation, and that might make a difference to Marylanders. "Awareness about the issue has grown," said Mr. Bromwell. "I've gotten a lot of positive responses." Federal Law Under federal law, there is no statute of limitations for the criminal prosecution of offenses involving the sexual abuse of a child. Alaska, Delaware and Maine have no statute of limitations for victims bringing civil actions of childhood sexual abuse. Wisconsin is considering eliminating its current statute of limitations. The following states have a statute of limitations greater than seven years after the age of majority for victims of childhood sexual abuse: Connecticut (30 years), Ohio (12 years), Pennsylvania (12 years) and Wisconsin (14 years).
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.