New York's Child Victims Act: What You Need to Know

By Victoria Bekiempis
Village Voice
March 15, 2012

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/03/child_victims_a.php


Since it's officially Timothy Cardinal Dolan week, why not keep the celebration going with a little more info on the Catholic leader's legislative positions?

Yesterday, Runnin' Scared wrote about Dolan's opposition to the Reproductive Health Act, which would codify abortion rights in the state, and de-criminalize late-term terminations.

Today, we bring you deets about the Child Victims Act, a pending policy which, if passed, would extend the statute of limitations for victims of sexual abuse.

Dolan has publicly opposed the law, sponsored by Rep. Margaret M. Markey (pictured here).

He says that it would basically bankrupt the church, even calling the proposed measure "unjust" to Catholics.

(Runnin' Scared reached out to the Archdiocese of New York for comment. We'll update when we hear back.)

Click for a brief explanation of this polemic policy.

What is the Child Victims Act?

The act, spearheaded by Markey (D-Queens), would give victims of sexual abuse more time to press charges, as well as extend the timeframe for civil lawsuits. The Queens Democrat has advocated for this since 2006, but has hit legislative roadblocks. If it became law, underage victims would have five more years to report crimes after age 18 -- so the limitations "count" wouldn't until they reach age 23. Also, this would give victims of abuse a one-year window to file civil lawsuits if the statute of limitations prevented them from doing so before.

What are the legal consequences?

More people who have been child victims of sex crimes would be able to prosecute the perpetrators in criminal court, and also seek civil settlements. Advocacy groups think that the legislation is necessary, since a lot of victims are psychologically unable to come forward until adulthood, according to Barbara Dorris, outreach coordinator at Survivors of Those Abused by Priests. The legislation applies to all cases of child sexual abuse -- not just perpetrated by clergy.

Why does Dolan oppose it?

Dolan says that the measure would not punish perpetrators of molestation, but would actually hurt the church's charitable activities. He says that the diocese would have to spend millions on legal defense rather than helping other people. He's quoted by the Daily News as saying:

"What suffers are the services and the ministries and the apostolates that we're doing now. Because where does the money come from? So the bishops of 30 years ago that allegedly may have re-assigned abusers, they don't suffer. They're dead, all right? So the people that suffer are those who are being served right now by the church. And we feel that is a terribly unjust burden. That schools close and charities shrink, all the good work that the church does."