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	Quincy Lawmaker, Weymouth Lawyer Keep Fighting for Child Abuse Bill By Christian Schiavone and Andrea Aldana Patriot Ledger September 28, 2011 http://www.patriotledger.com/homepage/breaking/x229298797/Quincy-lawmaker-Weymouth-lawyer-keep-fighting-for-child-abuse-bill BOSTON — It's been nearly a decade since a Weymouth lawyer and a Quincy lawmaker began a campaign to do away with the statute of limitations on sex crimes against children. On Tuesday, state Rep. Ronald Mariano, D-Quincy, and Carmen Durso, a lawyer who has represented dozens of victims of clergy sex abuse, continued the fight to do away with time limits for prosecution during a hearing of the Legislature's Judiciary Committee. Proponents say victims of childhood sex abuse often don't report it until they are emotionally ready to, and that that can take decades. Opponents say a total repeal is unrealistic and will result in criminal cases nearly impossible to prove because of the passage of time. The bill Mariano first filed in 2002 during the height of the clergy sex abuse scandal in Greater Boston has never made it out of committee, despite claims by proponents that most legislators want to vote on it. Rep. Eugene O'Flaherty, D-Chelsea, a criminal defense lawyer who oversees most crime bills as the head of the Judiciary Committee, "has been blocking the bill," Durso said. After the hearing at the State House on Tuesday, O'Flaherty said he has not kept the bill from moving forward. "There are many members on the committee and you can ask each their opinion," he said. O'Flaherty did say he has some problems with the bill. He said statutes of limitations are intended to protect defendants from witness testimony and evidence that is "old and stale." David Frank, of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, said it's difficult to strike a balance between giving victims of sexual abuse time to report it to authorities and making sure witnesses' testimony is reliable, especially after memories fade over long periods of time. "It makes it a much fairer process when memories are still fresh," he said. "When it comes to working out the details on statutes of limitations, it's very difficult." Alleged victims of child sex abuse who testified at Tuesday's hearing said the time limits for prosecution should be eliminated. Robert Costello, who said he was abused for eight years by a parish priest in West Roxbury as a child, said sex crimes against children should be treated like murder, for which there is no statute of limitations. "The term that's often used to describe the abuse perpetrated against us is 'soul murder,'" he said. "I know that there is not a statute of limitation on murder. Murder is the taking of a life, the wiping of a childhood, the killing of one's life potential." Mariano, the House majority leader, quipped that when he first agreed to file the bill in 2002, "I didn't know it would be a career effort." Mariano and Durso have had one victory. In 2006, the statute of limitations on prosecutions for sexual abuse of a child was extended from 15 to 27 years. The clock now starts ticking when a report is made or when an alleged victim turns 16. Mariano said the sticking point with committee members this time around isn't the repeal of the statute of limitations but other measures in the bill such as the proposed elimination of a $20,000 cap on damages that can be assessed against a charitable organization in a civil suit – so-called "charitable immunity." Plaintiffs' lawyers including Durso and Mitchell Garabedian are in favor of taking the cap off what organizations including the Boston archdiocese can be made to pay for each victim. Rep. Shauna O'Connell, R-Taunton, said society owes it to victims of childhood sex abuse to allow them to seek justice regardless of how many years have passed.
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