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	Bye Battles Time Limit for Civil Abuse Cases By Mary E. O'Leary New Haven Register January 27, 2011 http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/01/27/news/aa3_capsexabuse1012611.txt HARTFORD — State Sen. Beth Bye, D-West Hartford, is again working to amend the statute of limitations to deal with child sex abuse claims, and has proposed there be no time limit, going forward, when victims could seek civil damages. Bye said such crimes are so heinous, and the effects so damaging to victims, that perpetrators should be held civilly responsible for such actions for life. Last year and in 2009, there was an attempt to eliminate the statute of limitations retroactively, but it did not advance. Bye, a member of the Judiciary Committee, has introduced Senate BIll 784, "An Act Concerning the Limitation of Time for Bringing a Civil Action for Damages by a Victim of Child Sexual Abuse." The current statute states: "...no action to recover damages for personal injury to a minor, including emotional distress, caused by sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or sexual assault may be brought by such person later than thirty years from the date such person attains the age of majority." The age of majority in Connecticut is 18. Bye's proposed bill prospectively eliminates that 30-year limit on or after the bill is adopted. "Out of a sense of compassion and fairness, I have tried unsuccessfully in the past to retroactively eliminate the 30-year statute of limitations. Now it is my hope that a prospective-only bill will alleviate the concerns that some lawmakers have and will give them the confidence and the clarity they need to support this much-needed change." Bye, as member of the House of Representatives, worked on retroactively eliminating the statute of limitations in 2009 and 2010 in civil cases involving childhood sex abuse claims. She said she was mainly moved to do so when several of her constituents came forward to charge Dr. George Reardon, a former physician at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, with molesting them. More than 100 lawsuits have been brought against Reardon, who died in 1998, and St. Francis. Police say the more than 50,000 slides of child pornography found in the home where Reardon once lived had belonged to the doctor. Michael C. Culhane, spokesman for the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference, said it would object to the bill on the same grounds it did in previous years. The Catholic Church has had to pay out millions to settle child sex abuse cases. Culhane said he was glad the bill does not try to retroactively eliminate the statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases, but he still objects because it only applies to private, non-public entities and leaves sovereign immunity for municipalities and the state in place. "It's not fair. It is not equitable," Culhane said. Bye said she was surprised by Culhane's response, as church officials last year said they had no problem with a bill that removed the statute of limitations going forward because new church training for its personnel will prevent any abuse from happening in the future. Bye said the state has a system that allows civil claims to be brought against state workers. Call Mary E. O'Leary at 203-789-5731. Contact: moleary@newhavenregister.com
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