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Child sexual abuse survivors urge lawmakers to eliminate statute of limitations
By Marjorie Cortez
SALT LAKE CITY — An adult survivor of child sexual abuse told state lawmakers Wednesday that the molestation she endured at the hands of a middle school choir teacher haunts her to this day. As the child of a single mother working two jobs, the attention the then-anxiety-riddled middle-schooler Rebecca Ivory received from her teacher was initially "very intoxicating," she said. "Little did I know her attention was going to cause me nightmares for the rest of my life," said Ivory, addressing the Utah Legislature's House Judiciary Committee. While Utah's criminal statutes have been changed to acknowledge that many victims of child sexual abuse are not equipped to face their accusers until an average of 20 years later, Utah's civil statute of limitations does not reflect that understanding, said Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, who is Becky Ivory's husband. "Given what we know now about the psychology and what we know now about the trauma, Utah is one of the worst states for protecting children of sexual abuse," he said. Under existing Utah law, a person who discovers childhood sexual abuse after age 18 has four years to bring suit against the perpetrator. "What we do know is, the perpetrator has inflicted a lifetime sentence on the victim," said Ivory, sponsor of HB277. The bill would permit victims of child sexual abuse to file lawsuits at any time by eliminating the statute of limitations for such civil actions. The old saw "Justice delayed is justice denied" doesn't apply in cases of child sexual abuse, Ivory said. "Often justice not delayed is justice denied," he said. DeAnn Tilton told lawmakers that she, too, was an adult survivor of child sexual abuse. It takes decades for most victims "to seek justice for the harm that has been done to them," she said. Tilton said she experienced shame and fear of retaliation for years. Committee members acknowledged the victims' courage in speaking on behalf of the bill, but some expressed concerns eliminating the statute of limitations on civil actions on sexual abuse cases would significantly increase employers' insurance rates. Rep. Curtis Oda, R-Clearfield, who works as a property and casualty insurance agent, said insurance policies could become so expensive that underwriters might not offer sexual abuse coverage to employers in Utah or policies would have very high deductibles. Ivory countered that businesses and insurers in other states where there are no statutes of limitations on child sexual abuse civil actions — Delaware, Minnesota, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Montana — have adjusted to changes in public policy. "Clearly there's a balance to be struck. Our decision is, do we want to go from one of the worst states in the nation in protecting children that are victims of sexual abuse or do we want to protect the business interests in insuring? That’s a policy decision were going to have to make," he said. Rep. Fred Cox, R-West Valley City, said the Utah's four-year limitation on civil claims may be too short but he has concerns about eliminating the statute of limitation. "Changing from four years to unlimited, I have some concerns," Cox said. Oda said he was also concerned about lawsuits filed over "false memories." "It's easy to plant memories into children's minds and it's not that difficult to instill false memories in adult minds, sometimes. That could cause a serious problem," he said. In civil cases, plaintiffs bear the burden of proof, Ivory said. "There is an opportunity to deal with that in our system of civil justice," he said. The House Judiciary Committee took no action on HB277 but voted to continue discussion of the proposed legislation at an upcoming meeting.
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