By Marci A. Hamilton
The Patriot-News
November 13, 2011
http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2011/11/status_quo_should_be_intolerab.html
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Just as the Catholic Church should be held legally responsible for the child sexual abuse crimes perpetrated by its priests and the subsequent cover-up of the worldwide scandal, Penn State and its top administrators should be held similarly accountable for the alleged crimes committed by longtime assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
By now, people know that Sandusky has been charged with 40 counts of sexually abusing children over 15 years. They also know that Joe Paterno, as well as Athletic Director Tim Curley, Vice President Gary Schultz and former President Graham Spanier were made aware of the allegations but did not contact the proper authorities. The similarities between the two scandals are cause of great dismay and condemnation.
In both cases — and for that matter, cases involving Orthodox Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses, the U.S. swim team, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Boy Scouts and too many other organizations — credible charges of childhood sexual abuse have been made more odious by equally credible charges of conspiracy and concealment by superiors of the accused.
Yet current law fails to properly hold responsible not only those who commit these heinous crimes but also those who suppress or obfuscate them. To better protect childen, we must start with three steps: turning over the culprits to the authorities for investigation as soon as a report is received, publicly identifying the perpetrators and making it possible to hold accountable those who cover up the crime.
First, the reporting laws must be changed. All adults who are aware of childhood sexual abuse accusations must be required to report the abuse to the authorities or face serious penalties. At present, Pennsylvania is typical, fining those who fail to report the crime a mere $250. This is simply insufficient. There needs to be meaningful jail time — let's say five to 10 years — and real financial consequences such as a minimum fine of $20,000.
Many in Pennsylvania consider Paterno to be nothing short of sacred and shielded from accountability. They argue that he did what he was obligated to do by current law by reporting the allegations to his superior. Paterno did the bare minimum; Curley, Schultz and Spanier did less.
That should not be enough. Should an adult's reputation outweigh the welfare of a child? If they had all faced jail time and meaningful fines, they would have been far more likely and compelled to do the right thing and report the crime. It might have prevented further incidents from occuring.
Nor should the law prevent those victimized as children from pursuing legal remedy as adults. The statutes of limitations on childhood sexual abuse in most states are too short. In Pennsylvania, victims must come forward by the time they are 30 for civil suits and 50 for criminal prosecution. What is sad, though, is that five years ago, the SOLs were significantly shorter, so for many victims in Pennsylvania (as well as numerous other states), their claims expired and they are therefore shut out of the justice system.
State legislators have a pending bill that would fix this problem, by opening a window — a set time period for victims to initiate legal proceedings against their perpetrators. Passing this legislation would perform an essential public service in that the names and crucial information about abusers would be exposed. Because most perpetrators do not "age out" of abusing children, even naming a 67-year-old such as Sandusky can prevent future abuse. California and Delaware have enacted such reform, and others, including Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, New York, Michigan and Wisconsin, are considering the same. In California, the public learned the identities of 300 child predators.
Unfortunately, the chair of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, Ron Marsico, is holding the bill hostage, refusing to even hold hearings. The most active, well-financed lobbyist against this bill — as it is in each state in which window legislation has been introduced — is the Catholic Conference.
It's estimated that one in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused, and it happens where we least expect it — a priest, a coach and far too often, a family member. But we are in the midst of a revolution in which childhood victims are finding their voice and society is finding its values. Now, those in power who somehow permitted children to be at risk need to be seen under brighter light. The status quo is intolerable.
If we want the world to be a better place for our children, we must demand accountability and legal reforms that make it happen.
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