Fate Of Sex Abuse Bill Uncertain

New York's tribal politics along with the Catholic Church and certain Jewish groups may have killed the Child Victims Act.

Lobbying Intensifies, but Fate of Sex Abuse Bill Is Up in the Air
By PAUL VITELLO • NY Times

ALBANY — The political education of Beth McCabe began a few years ago, when she took her turn at the microphone here during a Senate committee hearing on childhood sexual abuse.

As Ms. McCabe, a consultant for nonprofit groups, testified about being abused as a 10-year-old, and saw the pained reaction of elected officials in the hushed room, she had a kind of epiphany, she said: that maybe her personal story — painful and private for so many years — would have the power to change public policy.

It was a moment of pure insight, common to many of the volunteer advocates who have been trawling the Capitol hallways for months, lobbying for a bill that would permit adults to file suit over childhood sexual abuse that may have occurred long ago.

But like many pure insights about politics, it has been tempered and tested by the sausage-making realities of the legislative process.

The bill has been amended twice in recent weeks to mollify opponents, and one of those amendments effectively cut Ms. McCabe out by setting an age limit of 53 for those who could file suits. She is 60.

It has been scheduled for a vote in the Assembly three times in the last week, and postponed at the last minute three times. A chaotic leadership battle in the Senate is partly to blame. Intense lobbying against the bill by the Catholic Church and some Orthodox Jewish groups has played a part, too: Lawmakers backing the legislation have defected, then been re-enlisted by the bill’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Margaret M. Markey, in middle-of-the-night meetings.

And almost every day for the last few weeks, Ms. McCabe and others like her have been on hand to buttonhole legislators in hallways, spend another night in a hotel and go home exhausted the next day to catch up on work.

“I had no idea it could get so complicated and weird,” Ms. McCabe said Thursday.

Like Tim Echausse, 41, an executive recruiter from Long Island, and Mark Lyman, 45, a drug abuse counselor in Albany, Ms. McCabe has taken time off from her job and spent many nights away from her home in Canton, Conn., in pursuit of what might at first glance seem a small and rather technical redress of the law: a one-year suspension of the statute of limitations on filing childhood sex abuse lawsuits, and a permanent increase in the time allowed for filing such suits.

The law allows such suits to be filed within five years after a victim turns 18. The new bill, known as the Child Victims Act, would extend that to 10 years.

In fact, opening the one-year window on the statute of limitations represents $1 billion in potential claims, according to lawyers and spokesmen for the Roman Catholic dioceses of New York, which have said they expected to be the main targets.

The church has fought back, with full-time lobbying by the Albany-based Catholic Conference. Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez, a Brooklyn Democrat, introduced a competing bill that eliminated the one-year window for filing older claims.

Partly in response to that, Assemblywoman Markey amended her bill to set 53 as the age limit for plaintiffs — a move that cost the bill its prime sponsor in the Senate, Thomas K. Duane of Manhattan.

Early this week, Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson agreed to replace him as the bill’s Senate sponsor — a major lift added to her already heavy workload as prime sponsor of bills on domestic violence and no-fault divorce.

And all the effort for the Child Victims Act could be rendered moot by the continuing state of paralysis in the Senate.

Ms. Markey conceded that her bill, which the Assembly passed in three consecutive years without amendment, was struggling this year for the same reason that it sailed through earlier: “It did not really have a chance of becoming law before, and now it does,” she said.

It needs 76 votes to pass in the Assembly, she said. “And as of this hour,” she said a little after noon on Thursday, “I have 77.”

But the threat to that margin has intensified in recent days. Ms. Markey’s other amendment — closing a loophole in municipal law to make public institutions just as liable as private or religious ones are under her bill — has drawn fire from various municipal associations.

The state School Boards Association, the Conference of Mayors, the state Association of Counties and the state Council of School Superintendents have issued memos in opposition.

The bill’s proponents have stepped up their tactics, too. On Thursday, lawyers appeared on the steps of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan to announce they had filed a sex abuse lawsuit on behalf of Richard P. Green, a nephew of New York’s former archbishop, Cardinal John J. O’Connor. They said Mr. Green, 31, had been molested by a priest at a Pennsylvania high school in the early 1990s.

The priest has since died, but the suit names as defendants the priest’s religious order and a diocese in Delaware, which has a law similar to Ms. Markey’s bill.

“It’s our client’s hope that the legislators keep this in mind,” said one Mr. Green’s lawyers, John Manly, referring to Albany lawmakers, who could clear the way for other victims like Mr. Green to file a lawsuit.

For her part, Ms. McCabe said the lobbying in Albany had been “a learning experience.”

“There are Assembly and Senate members who I have talked to at length twice or more. Some of them have given me a lot of their time, asked a lot of questions in a very thoughtful way.

“And still,” she added, “I have no idea what they will do.”

Mathew R. Warren contributed reporting.

[Hat Tip: Dr. R-F.]

Comments

[Yisroel Pensack]

"...lobbying for a bill that would permit adults to file suit over childhood sexual abuse that may have occurred long ago.

"...it has been tempered and tested by the sausage-making realities of the legislative process."

Freud himself couldn't have said it better than the NY Times reporter.

[harold]

Baruch Dayan Emes.

Now let us focus on stopping child abuse from happening and bringing predators to justice swiftly and throw away the keys.

[Shmarya]

Please. What a disingenuous person you are.

As you well know, most abused kids are so damage from that abuse that they cannot come forward to report it until well into adulthood.

Extending the SOL to 28 years old helps a bit.

But what really helps is the one year window. That allows hundreds of abuse survivors to sue – and those lawsuits will expose hundreds of predators and institutions that enabled them.

That is the best hope we have to protect kids.

It is people like you who endanger kids – and you do so to protect the pocketbooks of yeshivas and churches.

Truly sick.

[radical feminist]

If a murder is committed ten years ago and not reported does that make it legal?

[Shmarya]

Only if the victim was a Catholic educated in a Agudah-affiliated yeshiva, and the murderer is a priest with smicha from the Church.

[harold]

>> But what really helps is the one year window

Then why a one year window? Simply drop any SOL?

[jewishwhistleblower]

SAVE MOLLY AND HER CHILDREN!!!

Can anyone shed light on the identity of the following pedophile?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1193808/Hey-parents-leave-kids-Home-education-better-school-says-CAROL-SARLER.html
...
Hey parents, leave those kids alone! Home education is not better than school, says CAROL SARLER
By Carol Sarler
Last updated at 8:57 AM on 18th June 2009
...
We don't know that he would. But we do know that he couldn't. Which brings me to another home-schooled child, whom we shall call Molly because that is her real name. Only she doesn't use it any more.

Molly and her sisters were home-schooled because her parents didn't think schools were religious enough (Orthodox Jewish, since you ask).

At 17, she was married off to an older Jewish man. A year later, he was convicted of possessing child pornography and sent to prison for three years.

He told her he was innocent; she - too unworldly to comprehend the charges, let alone his guilt - believed him.

He instructed her to wait for him; she, accustomed to taking instruction from within the family and knowing few outside it, did.

Now, with his time served, they have legged it to Israel with new names. They plan soon to have their own children - who will, naturally, be home-schooled. Worried? Someone should be.

[Shmarya]

>> But what really helps is the one year window

Then why a one year window? Simply drop any SOL?

Please.

This has been explained many times. Stop pretending not to understand or admit you are a fool.

[MisterApikoros]

The article is proof of why a long statute of limitations is wrong.

Mrs. McCabe, 60, claims she was abused by a priest at 10. That means it took place in 1958 or 1959. In all probability, the priest who she claims abused her is dead. Two questions: How does she prove, using clear and convincing evidence, that she was abused by Father So-and-So, and how does Father So-and-So, or the parish, establish his innocence? In many cases, the parish will simply offer the Mrs. McCabes money to make her go away.

Eliminating for one year the statute of limitations will merely bring a flood of lawsuits from slip-and-fall lawyers (and their clients) looking for a quick payday. I'm sorry for all those abused but this is how the legal "profession" works.

Raising the maximum age to file a lawsuit from 23 to 28 isn't a bad idea; too many 23 year olds are still living at home and need some more time, although I'd personally only extend the maximum age to 25.

A much better idea is to establish a mechanism for those who are abused to come forward without fear of retribution. I know this is much harder to implement than to blog about it.

[Shmarya]

She would prove her case by having evidence. Claiming abuse by x priest is not the same thing as proving she was abused and then proving x priest did it.

Medical evidence says 28 is too young, and the SOL should be extended much further, in the range of 40.

In California and Delaware, passing the equivalent of the Child Victims Act outed hundreds of pedophiles.

[steve]

What most people don't know that under Lopez' bill, the age requirement will change from 18-23 which it is currently, to 20-25. In other words, there is no extension, only that the victim will now have to wait an additional two years to file suit. The rasha Senator Martin Golden is pushing for this Protect the Molester Bill. Mister Apikoros, you are in good company with these reshaim gemurim.

[MisterApikoros]

Do you remember the case involving Juanita Broaddrick, who claimed that Bill Clinton raped her in 1978, then kept quiet about it for 20 years, until Ken Starr and his band of merry Clinton-haters brought it forward.

They claimed that Broaddrick was afraid to bring the charges because of the Clintons' power, citing all the mysterious murders which took place in Arkansas, etc.

Wrong. Bill Clinton was DEFEATED in 1978, and spent two years as a law professor at the U. of Arkansas before becoming governor in 1980 (my years may be off but Broaddrick had two years to press her claim when Clinton was just a private citizen. Where was Broaddrick in 1979, 1980, and for that matter for the next 20 years? For that matter, Paula Jones, whom I also believe was totally full of shit, filed her harrassment lawsuit on the last day before the 3-year window closed. Where the hell was she in 1992, when Clinton first ran for president?

Justice delayed is justice denied. This applies to perps, accused perps, and victims alike.

[Shmarya]

Do you think their might be a medical difference between an adult who is sexually abused and a child who is sexually abused?

There is.

[harold]

>> Then why a one year window? Simply drop any SOL?

Please.

This has been explained many times. Stop pretending not to understand or admit you are a fool.

I guess then I am a fool. Rather than being nasty why don't you simply provide a link to one of the many explanations instead if you don't want to answer it?

[MisterApikoros]

Of course, a child should have a longer window than an adult, and I believe once one is 25, he or she is adult enough.

What I don't want to see are these notorious "repressed memory" cases where some charlatan claiming to specialize in recovering "lost" memories of decades ago, charges the vicim a fortune, then is instrumental in destroying innocent lives.

Sure, some perps will skate. But our legal system is based upon the presumption of innocence.

[Shmarya]

It's even answered in this post.

When a person sues a pedophile or a yeshiva who sheltered a pedophile, that pedophile's name becomes part of the public record.

So if rabbi x is still abusing kids in yeshiva y, when he and the yeshiva are sued, they're exposed. When the victim wins the lawsuit it becomes nearly impossible for the pedophile to continue teaching, which cuts his access to children dramatically.

THe suits also force yeshivas to adopt stricter policies about sexual abuse, and to do things like background check and finger printing they normally do not do and have, in fact, opposed.

This happens because their insurance companies mandate it.

[Shmarya]

Of course, a child should have a longer window than an adult, and I believe once one is 25, he or she is adult enough.

You may believe this but the medical literature does not support your belief

What I don't want to see are these notorious "repressed memory" cases where some charlatan claiming to specialize in recovering "lost" memories of decades ago, charges the vicim a fortune, then is instrumental in destroying innocent lives.

Suits based on lost memories are extremely difficult to prove and often don't even get out of discovery.

[MisterApikoros]

I also believe that exceptions to age 25 should be made, in special (and uncommon) circumstances.

All you have to do is watch daytime TV and you'll see all the advertising from attorneys for mesothielioma from working in shipyards 65 years ago, cerebral palsy as a result of childbirth, and a zillion and one other reasons, some valid, most not.

There will be a flood of such cases if the SOL is eliminated for a year, most meritless, but time-consuming and costly for the defendants even if the suit is shown to be frivolous. Most of these will be the result of priest and rabbi-chasing by these shysters. In many cases the parishes, yeshivas, and synagogues and their insurance companies will simply settle rather than fight.

This is not justice.

[radical feminist]

Where was Broaddrick in 1979, 1980, and for that matter for the next 20 years?

You are VERY VERY naive about what it was like for a woman to come forward with a rape charge in 1978. There were very few rape crises facilities, certainlty not in Little Rock, Ak. It is still a problem in 2009!

[harold]

>> It's even answered in this post

I understand the ramifications of being found guilty of such a heinous crime. My question is, what is the justification of, once the SOL gets lifted, to close it? For what ever argument you will give to reinstate the SOL won't that apply to preventing it’s lifting in the first place?

[Shmarya]

You mean why not have no SOL, period?

Because that won't pass.

[harold]

You mean why not have no SOL, period?

Because that won't pass

Is it because there are valid arguments for having SOL in place?

[Shmarya]

Not really. There is no SOL for murder and any arguments applying to that would equally apply to sexual abuse of children.

But don't keep playing dumb and trying to trap me. Anyone who has read your comments ovr the past months knows what you are, and they know you are being disingenuous in the extreme.

[Isa]

Texas has no SOL for sex abuse

We hang'em high here!

[Pete]

This may help some understand.

The more violent the pedophile, the longer it takes a victim to come forward. If you beat on a puppy, the later dog grown will never be the same. Humans are the same.

Violent pedophilia is the perfect crime.

The child becomes isolated, unable to concentrate and reasoning becomes blurred. The child reaches hyper vigilance. In other words protecting self becomes the norm. This is not your typical ADD. In fact the brain which has not fully developed now changes its formation. This can be seen in later adulthood via brain scan. You can see the physical differences from a normal brain.

Brain scans of those who have committed suicide match up with those who have been severely sexually abused.

Reality is that even though a victim will get a flash of the abuse, the brain quickly dismisses it without control of the victim. This is a protective mechanism to preserve some sort of sanity. Unfortunately access to reasoning becomes limited when smell, feelings and thoughts touch on reminders. Instead, the victim will reach a heightened sense of emotion that is over powering, no control and generally it is internal. Lost lives for certain.

The worst thing you could ever tell a victim is to move on with their lives or to quit complaining. You see, the victim works much harder than most in life never knowing why. Each failure, no matter how small triggers a self destructive behavior that acts out a form of escape. The escape may last for weeks or months. During that time, the victim will walk away from jobs, relationships and virtually anything that they have created. After a month or six, they will come to senses, keep in mind they have no control over when. They then begin building all over again, from start. The same will happen again and again. A life was never lived. And a very tiring one.

When my son turned the age my abuses started, I finally woke from My trauma. This is usual, The worst trauma of all was realizing I never lived my life, I was 56 yrs old. The pedos got away with it didn't they? Remember, the victim has no idea of what it going on.

I was raped from age 8 to 10, once a gang rape by 4 priests. Another incident I was intentionally suffocated by a priest. I played dead and slept in the woods.

Today I am permanently mentally ill due too the abuses, How fair is that?

If you want an idea of what a victim goes through, watch the movie "Click" with Adam Sandler. Even though it has nothing to do with the abuse, the remote is the brain of a victim. Once the remote figured out when to fast forward, it took over on its own. The same as a victims. Adam would laugh when others laughed or would even agree, though never realizing he was doing that or what he was agreeing to. Another perfect match of a victim whose brain is in remote control. Luckily Adam, when very old, got a 2nd chance. The victim can only look back at a lost life when they finally wake from the trauma, and now mental illness. Imagine those people now attacking victims, how cruel it is. Imagine the hope to finally point a finger at who raped you, to find out there is an age limit.

Quite a cruel life huh? Losing your legs, you adjust and live your life. Losing your mind, there is no adjustment, only a brain on remote control.

[Pete]

BTW: Many of the priest knew the victim would take a long time to remember. That is why in the Vatican document it specifically states to keep the secret at all cost. Threaten families with excommunication if need be. It also says to keep the secret until the child turns 23, then legal opportunities are lost.

By the way, the most violent abuses will keep a victim in trauma for 50 and 60 years, some never wake up.

[MisterApikoros]

I guess I'm very, very naive for believing due process trumps rumor and innuendo. Juanita Broaddrick never came forward. It was Kenneth Starr & Co. who pressured her to invent this story.

Yes, there was a Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. I'm no lefty, having voted for Reagan (twice) , Bush, Bush II (twice; OK, I did vote for Slick Willie) and McCain, but there appear to be a couple posters here who at least condone it.

[Hometown Postville]

All this debate over how much time can elapse to bring a case forward boils down to inconvenience for the groups in question. Boo hoo- bringing a case up 20 years after the fact will stain the group where the abuse originated, will generate compensatory costs of gigantic proportion, will mean frivolous suits, will mean... If there is no guilt, they have nothing to worry about. Little has been said about what it means to the abused. Pete's post is one of the most poignant examples regarding consequences of unreported abuse. He didn't confront this abuse until age 55 and in the meantime, how many more "Petes" have the perps and organizations who hid them created? Protecting reputation and money seems to be more important than protecting children. An open-ended or almost open-ended time frame will promptly intensify efforts of ALL organizations to address the issue. The threat of a deluge of lawsuits will guarantee a frenzy of motivation to develop checks and balances, watchdog policies,and prevention programs with parents/children.Decreasing that time frame to 1-2 years would not be as dramatic or public. This is not just about implementing a law to "fix" a problem. This involves a sickness that is ingrained and condoned in a pocket of culture. And the only way it will be contained is to attack it publicly, ruthlessly and consistently within the greater group. Defending a shorter time frame just lets the older perps off the hook.

[harold]

... If there is no guilt, they have nothing to worry about. ...

I am curious, if a case is deemed to be a "frivolous lawsuit" does the party that brought the lawsuit have to pay the legal costs of the party that they brought the lawsuit against?

[Pete]

How many frivolous law suits do you expect to see? The fact is that it would be much less often than any other lawsuit. The reason is that most the abuses were males, most males will not come forward.

The correct answer to your question is that organizations as the RCC wins because, as the FBI states, less than 10% will come forward. Sort of places the idea of frivolous lawsuits, frivolous.

This is just another RCC lie as usual. Just as they said they moved the priest around to help them get better. The reality is they threatened the child with harm to self and family if they speak about it. The child lived the terror alone. A minimum of 80% of US bishops are guilty. Meanwhile the real reason they moved the priest was to protect them from the child saying "He did it".

Imagine this organization protecting the grown violent pedophile and ignoring the harmed child. (read my post above to understand the effects)

Also, purgery is a crime --> your frivolous cases.

[Hometown Postville]

Envisioning the number of perps who have been shaking in their boots while the Markey bill is debated is amusing to say the least! My guess is that the number of abuse incidents has been down lately. It would be even more satisfying to announce the acceptance of the Markey bill into law via PA system on the streets to see how many black hats turn white!