By James M. Odato
Albany Times Union
November 13, 2011
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Time-limit-kills-sex-cases-2267615.php
 |
| Assemblywoman Margaret Markey in her office in Albany, N.Y. May 24, 2011. (Skip Dickstein/ Times Union) |
Alleged victims in the Penn State child abuse scandal would have been unable to pursue criminal charges if the Keystone State's laws were even close to those in New York. The statute of limitations in the Empire State runs out when the victim turns 23.
Pennsylvania bars criminal complaints at age 50. That was moved up from age 30 in the wake of sexual abuses of children which came to light in the Catholic archdiocese of Philadelphia in 2005.
The victims who said they were molested by former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky have recourse because most are in their 20s now, and the assaults they suffered allegedly happened in Pennsylvania. But several turned age 23 a while ago and authorities would have been barred from prosecuting Sandusky if he was instead employed in New York and committed the alleged attacks here. Sandusky faces 40 criminal counts. He is accused of serial sex abuse of eight minors and, through an attorney, has said he is not guilty.
"Victim 4" was 12 or 13 in 1996 or 1997. An indictment says Sandusky began inviting him to spend the night and testing his reaction to touching. The victim described repeated acts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and indecent assault. He also said Sandusky gave him many gifts and guaranteed him he would be a walk-on player for Penn State. Victim 4 turned 18 in 2002, seven years before the investigation of Sandusky began. He would have been 23 in 2007, two years before the probe.
"The research has shown people don't come to grips with these things until they reach a greater maturity than age 23," says Assemblywoman Margaret M. Markey, D-Queens. Her "Child Victims Act of NY" bill would extend the statute to age 28. It has encountered heavy opposition, particularly from the Catholic Church, she says. "Up until this past week it looked as if I was taking on a religious institution. This is not about the church. This is a societal issue." Her bill is hung up indefinitely, because it would also set up a one-year window for past victims to file civil suits no matter if the statute has expired. Opponents fear it would result in a flood of crippling litigation.
Catholic Conference Executive Director Richard Barnes said he supports other bills in the Legislature that don't allow the civil claims after expiration of the statute of limitations, but would also extend the statute to 10 years after age 18 of the victm. Assembly Codes Committee Chairman Joseph Lentol says that won't work.
Albany County District Attorney David Soares believes it's time to act. He says he has encountered cases of child abuse that couldn't be prosecuted because of New York's tight time period. "It takes so long to reconcile with the trauma that occurs at such an early age," he says. Soares says he feels bad for those he cannot help, and about predators who go unpunished. "You think of all those other people that may have been victimized as well," he says.
Moral questions aside, preventing more victims is good fiscal policy. Child molestations cost state taxpayers $1 billion a year, says Ted Miller, a health economist who has studied the issue for 20 years. Each victim costs $230,000, he says. Sexually abused children become troubled adults: 2.7 times more likely to commit suicide, 7.5 times more likely to divorce. "The largest cost factor here," says Miller, "is pain, suffering, and lost quality of life."
Contact: jodato@timesunion.com
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.