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	Helping the Victims Opening up a Window for Victims to File Suit against Their Perpetrators Would Provide One Form of Justice Milwaukee Journal Sentinel March 27, 2009 http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/42026352.html After a car crash, some walk away with mere bruises. Others spend the rest of their lives suffering deep and persistent pain. That lifelong, wracking pain is a trademark characteristic resulting from sexual abuse. There is much to shock the conscience and strain belief in the case of Daniel Acker of Waukesha, the part-time aquatics program coordinator suspected of sexually assaulting young boys and teens for more than 30 years. But why victims don't step forward - even over 30 years - shouldn't be among the articles of disbelief. Stigma, shame and fear conspire to render sexual crimes notoriously underreported. It is why serial predators can operate for so long without detection. It remains important, however, for victims to come forward - in this case and all others. On Friday, Greenfield police asked federal authorities to investigate whether Acker could be connected to dozens of sexual assaults and children who have disappeared since the 1970s. The car crash analogy is one Peter Isely uses. Isely is a founding member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, an organization familiar with the reluctance of victims to step forward. The Acker case will play out in the criminal courts, but it also makes a case for SNAP's push for the state Legislature to change laws that can deal at least with victims' ability to bring civil suits against sexual predators. We agree. It's time for legislation to eliminate the statute of limitations in civil cases for victims of past child sexual assaults. California and Delaware already have passed similar legislation. In Wisconsin, a Child Victims Act, proposed in the previous session by state Sen. Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point), would've opened up a three-year window for victims to file a suit against their perpetrators, regardless of how long ago the crime was committed. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that once the statute of limitations has run out, authorities cannot prosecute perpetrators criminally. But there are also civil remedies available for long-suffering victims of abuse. This, too, can be a form of bringing victimizers to justice. "The main reason these men are allowed to get away with their crimes is because it's the most underreported crime in the world and they know this," Isely said. Stronger laws allowing for the ability to sue could prompt victims to come forward. In such cases, the emotional scars are hidden, but victims still need closure. Enacting the Child Victims Act would be a good start.
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