New Law Seeks to Protect Young Victims of Sexual Abuse

By Michelle Karas
Bennington Banner
June 3, 2013

http://www.benningtonbanner.com/opinion/ci_23380229/new-law-seeks-protect-young-victims-sexual-abuse

It's no coincidence that Gov. Peter Shumlin chose Bennington on Monday as the place to sign legislation that extends the statute of limitations for sexual crimes committed against a child in Vermont.

The idea for the law originated here. It was proposed by Bennington County Sen. Dick Sears, Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, after Christina Rainville, Bennington County Chief Deputy State's Attorney, approached him seeking changes to the state law.

Sexual crimes committed against a child now have a 40-year statute of limitations, whereas before the law only allowed for prosecution of sexual assault, lewd and lascivious conduct and sexual exploitation of a minor within 10 years after the crimes were reported, or until a child's 24th birthday.

Rainville was moved to do so following the much-publicized trial and conviction of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky last year. She told The Banner that the Sandusky case was a "watershed moment" for her.

The need for a longer statute of limitations in Vermont was underscored in recent months when former child victims learned that their abusers continued to work with children. In Bennington County, a man was accused by four victims in the 1990s of sexual crimes. The statute at that time prevented prosecution.

Rainville has told The Banner that there is typically one case per year in Bennington County that cannot be persecuted because the statute of limitations had expired.

On Monday, Shumlin and Sears also both cited the Sandusky case as an impetus for change in the Vermont law.

"I know that Sen. Sears was motivated by this bill from not a crime that happened in Vermont but a crime that happened, as we all know, in Pennsylvania," Shumlin said.

Sandusky, who had long been an icon in Penn State community and founded a nonprofit for disadvantaged children known as The Second Mile, was in 2011 arrested and charged with 52 counts of sexual abuse of young boys between 1994 and 2009. He met all of his victims - all of whom were underage - through his work with The Second Mile.

In June 2012, Sandusky was found guilty of 45 of the charges and was sentenced to at least 30 years in a state prison in Pennsylvania.

If Sandusky's abuses had happened in Vermont prior to the new law, eight of the 10 victims who came forward in that case would not have been able to bring charges because of the time limitations, Rainville noted.

Shumlin said Rainville was the main force behind the new statute of limitations, and not only drove the bill but also helped to draft the new law.

"We're now going to be able to better protect today's children because when we have someone who committed crimes 40 years ago still having contact with children today, we can't protect today's children. This eliminates that huge problem with our law, so I'm very, very grateful for everyone's effort," Rainville told the Banner Monday.

The new Vermont law takes effect immediately. (See related story on the front page).

"This law gives victims without a legal voice the opportunity to right an awful wrong," Shumlin said.

Coming forward after a sexual crime is difficult enough. Extending the statute of limitations for child victims of sexual abuse in Vermont will hopefully increase the probability of reporting these innocence-usurping crimes.