GUAM
Pacific News Center
Written by Rebecca Elmore
The measure lifts the civil statute of limitations on child sexual abuse crimes.
Guam – Governor Eddie Calvo signed bill 326 into Public Law 33-187, opening the door for victims and survivors of child sex abuse to go after their perpetrators and the institutions that protected them through civil litigation.
You can read the governor’s signing message below:
My Dear People of Guam,
Transmitted herewith to the elected representatives of your Legislature is the new law opening the doors of justice to those who suffered a terrible harm as children. I have signed it into law as P.L. 33-187.
I am a practicing but imperfect Catholic; a husband, father, grandfather, brother, and son; a Chamorro man, who believes in second chances, yet has no tolerance for those who prey on the most innocent and vulnerable, the children. Thanks to the trust of our people, I’m also the governor. And on days like this, when my different roles may not join in harmonious conviction, I am resolute about this decision. It comes after days of listening to very different opinions, hearing the cries, considering the consequences, separating one issue from another and then reconciling it all within my conscience. So, today, though I am pleased that our community has confronted what once was unthinkable, I am saddened that even a single injustice had to happen in order to make this law necessary. There are no winners. Justice is the only victory.
When matters of justice come about, our system of government has spared me from any duty to judge another human being. It is neither my role, nor my desire, to judge others. I will not second guess the assertions of those who have been victimized, nor will I deny the protestations of those accused. The law spares the governor from the duty of judging beyond one matter: whether there is a new threshold for justice, that will be determined by the judges.
Today is that day, when I am due and bound by duty to judge this matter. I now understand why some say leadership is a burden. My conscience has been conflicted for the last two weeks. Let me be clear that I am not judging any single person or institution. I am deciding whether a group of people has been denied justice and should therefore be entitled to seek it with judgment by due process of law.
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