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	Bill Would Give Abuse Victims More Time to Come Forward with Charges By Kristen Hanmer Legislative Gazette April 21, 2009 http://www.legislativegazette.com/day_item.php?item=811 Lawmakers and supporters of legislation that would extend the statute of limitations to benefit victims of childhood sexual abuse made a strong showing during a press conference in Albany today. Also known as the Child Victims Act, the bill (A.2596/S.2568) is sponsored by Assemblywoman Margaret Mackey, D-Maspeth, and Sen. Thomas Duane, D-Manhattan. If passed, the legislation would extend the statute of limitations in sexual abuse cases, giving victims five more years to come forward with charges. Under current law, the period begins when a child turns eighteen, but the bill seeks to change that to age 23, giving the victim until age 28 to come forward. "The statute of limitations, the way they are in New York state, actually protects the pedophile," said Mackey. She said the timeframe needs to be extended since children are often not emotionally mature enough to come forward until later in life. "The time for this legislation has come," said Duane. "Unfortunately, New York state has nothing to be proud of in this area, regarding the statute of limitations. They are actually repressive to victims and we have to fix the outdated nature of that." The bill would also create a one-year window for adults who were sexually abused as children, in which the statute of limitations would be suspended. In other words, for one year after the passage of this bill, adults who were abused years or even decades ago as children could bring charges against their abusers. "This allows a victim to come forward and confirm and have confirmed what happened to them," said Duane. "Not allowing victims to do that is a continued perpetration against them." Mackey also said this window is especially important because it would identify pedophiles that have been able to remain anonymous when their victims did not speak out. The bill has passed the Assembly three times already and Mackey, who has been carrying it for four years now, says she is "cautiously optimistic" it will pass this year. Assemblymembers Patricia Eddington, D-Medford, Micah Kellner, D-Manhattan, and Joan Millman, D-Brooklyn, were also present in support of the bill. Speakers representing organizations supporting the legislation included Joel Engelman from Survivors for Justice, Timothy Echausse, director of the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, Barbara Blaine, founder and president of SNAP, Rev. Anthony Evans, president of the National Black Church Initiative and Marcia Pappas, president of the New York state chapter of the National Organization for Women.
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