NEW YORK
Times Herald-Record
September 16, 2018
Here are three things to keep in mind as the New York attorney general begins an investigation into sexual abuse by clergy in the Roman Catholic Church in the state.
First, we should expect a report similar to the one that came out following a grand jury inquiry in Pennsylvania, one that found more than 1,000 victims abused by more than 300 priests over 70 years. From what we know already in New York from church settlements and occasional court cases, the magnitude of the findings is likely to be the same.
Second, we should expect that most of those cases will not result in prosecutions because of the statute of limitations. New York has very strict limitations preventing most victims from pursuing cases in court. And more than 300 people who settled privately with the church have waived their right to sue.
Third, we should expect the outcome of this investigation to lend more support to efforts in Albany to help those victims seek the kind of justice denied them for so long. The way to do that is to pass the Child Victims Act, a series of bills providing future victims with more opportunity to go to court, that would penalize those responsible for these crimes and, most important, open up a one-year window in that restrictive statue of limitations.
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