Sex Abuse Victims Call for an End to Statute of Limitations
By Alex Taylor
The Daily Free Press [Boston MA]
March 15, 2006
http://www.dailyfreepress.com/media/paper87/news/2006/03/15/News/
Limitless.Potential-1687069.shtml
Adult victims who suffered sex abuse as children joined with support organizations to rally outside the Statehouse steps Tuesday morning, hours before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing on bills that would eliminate the statute of limitations on sex crimes commit against minors.
The Coalition to Reform Sex Abuse Laws in Massachusetts urged the Joint Judiciary Committee to send three bills to the legislature that would end the statute of limitations on childhood sex abuse crimes, which states victims of sexual abuse cannot raise charges against their attackers six to 15 years -- depending on the nature of the crime -- after the victim's 16th birthday.
"Sexual predators are able to hide their crimes for years with guilt and intimidation," Lt Gov. Kerry Healey said before the committee. "Sexual offenders remain active for many years and most are never caught."
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Angelo DeBenedictis of Nantucket shows support for the Coalition to Reform Sex Abuse Laws In Massachusetts during Tuesday?s press conference at the State House before a hearing about eliminating the statute of limitations on crimes of sexual assult and abuse on minors. Photo by the Media Credit: Phoebe Sexton |
Healey added that Massachusetts has made great progress in closing loopholes in sexual abuse laws in Massachusetts and gave her support for the bills, co-sponsored by Sen. Stephen Tolman (D-Boston) and Rep. Ronald Mariano (D-Quincy).
"Predators of child abuse should not have rights," Tolman said. "The Judiciary Committee will vote to protect the interest of children or it will vote to protect pedophiles."
The Coalition to Reform Sex Abuse Laws was formed in 2004 to push for legislation that would end the statute of limitations on sexual abuse committed against children.
The three bills are expected to be voted on by the Joint Judiciary Committee today.
If Massachusetts passes the bills, it will join a number of other states, including Maine, Virginia and New Jersey, that will have abolished the statute of limitations in sex abuse crimes against minors.
"Massachusetts is known as being the first people to pass bills," said Unis White, the mother of a sexually abused son. "Guess what? We're not. Other states have passed the bill and we're not one of them."
Speakers at the press conference before the hearing said Massachusetts should eliminate the statute of limitations because sexual abuse causes long-term psychological effects on childhood victims well into adulthood.
Jetta Bernier, the executive director of Massachusetts Citizens for Children, said 80 percent of sex abuse crimes committed against children are never reported.
Psychologists who testified at the committee said sexually abused children often think they are to blame for the crime because they are usually assaulted by a trusted authority figure.
"The perpetrator is good, and that means I must be bad," said psychologist Ann Hagen Webb, who was sexually abused as a child. "Logic doesn't help the shame go away."
Former NFL player Roy Simmons spoke candidly at the press conference about his own experiences of being sexually abused by a neighbor when he was 11-years-old.
"I remember it as though it happened yesterday," Simmons said. "I will never forget the pain and paranoia. I felt that is was my fault."
Although Simmons was able to recall his experience, Rep. Mary Grant (D-Beverly) said it is usually difficult for victims to retrieve memories due to the "serious and complex nature of the trauma."
"Research has shown the only effective intervention is involvement of the criminal system," Grant said.
Statistics gathered by members of the Massachusetts Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Partnership found that 90 percent of Massachusetts residents think sexual abuse is a serious problem in the state. A federal study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control found that one out of four women and one out of six men report some kind of sexual abuse by their 18th birthday.
Grant testified that long-term psychological effects for sexually abused children include repressed memories, depression, suicidal thoughts and drug or alcohol dependency
David Clohessy, a sexual abuse survivor and the National Director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said the statute of limitations has been sexual abusers' best defense because children are usually unable to come forward about the abuse.
"In one simple word, prevention is the reason we are here today," Clohessy said. "This is about protecting children, period."
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