BishopAccountability.org
	Penn State Case Having Effect on Other Alleged Child Abuse Victims By Barbara Grijalva KOLD November 17, 2011 http://www.kold.com/story/16059829/penn-state-abuse-case-having-effect-on-other-alleged-child-abuse-victims [with video] Something extraordinary is happening as the Penn State child abuse case unfolds. Men who say they suffered abuse as children are coming forward, calling attorneys about their cases. It's happening across the country, and here in Tucson. Some experts say the men finally feel safe because the public's opinion of child abuse victims has changed. It's alleged that former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky abused boys for years. Attorneys say public attitudes have changed since the Catholic priest sexual abuse scandals of a decade ago. More people are taking the side of the victims. They say that's one reason why men are now admitting they were abused, and looking to do something about it. Tucson attorney Lynne Cadigan, who represented several local abuse victims during the Catholic church child abuse scandal, said just Wednesday morning she had already received three phone calls from men who say they were abused as children. "I think the problem with men coming forward is there's been a sense of shame that's been associated with being a sex abuse victim and being male. I think the Catholic church cases dispelled some of that, but not all of it. And this particular case, with so much sympathy for the victims, and so much of the shame placed on the coaches and the institution, they feel much safer coming forward," says Cadigan. Cadigan says the public may be ready to demand changes in Arizona law which has, what she calls, a terrible statute of limitations on child sex abuse claims.
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