Bill Would Extend Window for Justice on Abuse Cases

By Tiffany Brooks
Legislative Gazette
April 21, 2014

http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-Top-Stories-c-2014-04-21-87641.113122-Bill-would-extend-window-for-justice-on-abuse-cases.html

Assemblywoman Margaret Markey is renewing her push for legislation that would give sexual assault victims more time to file criminal and civil complaints against their abusers.

Markey's Child Victims Act (A.1771-a/ S.06367) would eliminate completely the statute of limitation on reporting criminal charges of sexual assault, erasing the current five year limitation on reporting an incident after a victim turns 18. The bill would also suspend the civil statute of limitations for one year in order to help expose older crimes and allow for possible identification of hidden abusers through the court discovery process.

"Research consistently shows that survivors of childhood sexual abuse do not come to terms with what happened to them until later in life, often not until middle age," said Markey, D-Maspeth. "Providing more time for them to come forward not only provides justice for those who have been victimized, but will also expose pedophiles who remain hidden because of current law."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 percent of men and 18 percent of women have been sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Thirty-five percent of female victims were assaulted as minors and 28 percent of male victims were assaulted under the age of 10.