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	On the Eve of the First Reardon Cases Going to Trial, Judiciary Committee Weighs Changes to the Statute of Limitations in Child Sex Abuse Cases By Daniela Altimari Hartford Courant April 5, 2011 http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/2011/04/on-the-eve-of-the-first-reardo.html The legislature's Judiciary Committee heard testimony Monday on a bill that would eliminate the statute of limitations on lawsuits filed by victims of child sexual abuse. The measure would only apply to cases brought after the law took effect. The hearing unfolded on the eve of the start of the first trial against St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center by people who claim that the hospital's chief endocrinologist sexually abused them decades ago. Last year, a similar bill was introduced, but it would have applied retroactively as well. That bill was not intended solely for those who say they were victimized by Reardon, but it was vigorously fought by the Catholic Church. This session, Sen. Beth Bye reintroduced the measure with the provision that it would only pertain to instances of abuse going forward, in part because the church objected to it -- saying "we all know it's not fair to change the rules of the game after it's been started." "That was the goal here, to start the rules and make everyone aware," said Bye, a Democrat from West Hartford. Michael C. Culhane, executive director of the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference, said the church has other objections, including that eliminating the time limit for lawsuits may discourage victims from reporting abuse in a timely manner. Culhane also questioned why the rules on sex abuse lawsuits are different for municipal entities, such as schools. "Victims in the private and non -public sector have access to the Superior Court in terms of their claims. If you are a victim in the public sector, you have no recourse," he said. Bye asked why the Catholic Church was speaking out against the measure, when other large organizations that deal with children were not. She cited all the positive steps the church has taken in recent years to root out sexual predators and train volunteers to spot signs of abuse. "There's some fantastic work being done at St. Francis and through Catholic Charities for victims of sexual abuse," Bye said. "I've been trying to make sense of the strong opposition...I'm just struggling with understanding why your organization that does so much good for victims right now is opposed to this bill that so many victims advocates are in favor of...It's not making sense to me." "I don't know," Culhane said. "Maybe they don't have the same perspective as the church." He said the current statute of limitations -- 30 years from the time the victim of the abuse turns 18 -- is long enough. Culhane also told lawmakers that church backs another bill pending before the Judiciary Committee. This proposal would authorize victims of childhood sexual abuse to bring a direct action in Superior Court against the state or a municipality -- or any of its employees. Currently, Culhane said, government has sovereign immunity from such lawsuits. "We support [the bill] out of a sense of fairness and a desire to protect all the children," he told the committee.
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