ALBANY (NY)
CNHI News Service
February 3, 2019
Paul Barr, who says he was molested by a Catholic priest 38 years ago, finally felt exonerated last week when New York lawmakers strengthened the state’s Child Victims Act after years of refusing to do so.
“It means vindication,” said Barr. “Now we get to stick up for the children we were and confront those who abused us or let us be abused.”
The 53-year-old Niagara Falls advocate for sex abuse victims said holding accountable bad priests and their superiors who looked the other way will now be far easier throughout New York.
With only three lawmakers objecting, the state legislature voted last Monday to establish a one-year window for adults who claim they were victims of child sexual assault to file civil lawsuits against their abusers.
Criminal charges under the Child Victims Act won’t be retroactive but changes to the law would extend to 10 years the current five-year limit for future prosecution of felony sexual abuse crimes. That clock starts when a victim turns 18.
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