Our Views: Back victims of child sex abuse

The Island Now

It is hard to believe that in 2016 New York State law still prohibits victims of child sex abuse from bringing criminal charges or civil claims against abusers after their 23 birthday.

The trauma of a child sexually abused by an adult, usually one in a position of authority, can last for decades and coming forward to seek justice is often a gut-wrenching decision. 

To then deny the victims — children assaulted by adults — the chance for justice is unimaginably cruel.

North Shore residents were recently reminded of this when the Catholic order that runs Chaminade High School suspended its former president from serving as a priest after finding allegations that he sexually abused a former student “were credible.”

The current Chaminade president, Brother Thomas Cleary, said the prestigious Mineola parochial school did not learn about the alleged abuse in 2011 until February 2015.

The good news is that the state Assembly is working on legislation to eliminate or significantly extend New York’s statute of limitations for child abuse cases. 

Gov. Cuomo has said he would like to see a bill passed by the end of the legislative session that eliminates the statute of limitations pertaining to criminal cases and extends it for civil cases. He said he is also open to a one-year window to revive old cases.

The bad news is that legislative session ends June 16, agreement among the Democratic-controlled Assembly is not a sure thing and Senate Republicans, who are led by the Long Island delegation, have opposed eliminating the statue of limitations. They have argued that it could spur a spate of frivolous and difficult-to-prove lawsuits.

This is nonsense.

California saw about five false claims out of 850 against the Catholic Church — about 2 percent.

Are the legislators really going to protect hundreds of sexual predators, preying on children, because one or two people might be falsely accused? 

False reporting happens in every category of crime. Why single out sexual assaults against children? 

What next, decriminalize rape and murder because of fear of false claims?

Sadly, the Catholic Church has led the opposition to eliminating the statute of limitations for criminal cases, extending it for civil cases and permitting a one-year window to revive old cases.

The Catholic Conference spent more than $2.1 million on lobbying from 2007 through the end of 2015, hiring some of the top lobbying firms in Albany, according to a report in the Daily News. And that, the News reported, does not include the conference’s own internal lobbying team.

The Catholic Church, which has already paid out more than $2 billion to abuse survivors and their families in the United States, has been joined by some Orthodox Jewish groups and other private groups in opposition to a proposal to eliminate the time limit that prohibits adults who were victimized as children from bringing civil cases after their 23rd birthday.

It is hard to believe religious groups — especially the Catholic Church, with its history of abuse by priests — would lead a campaign against legislation that would help give justice to victims of horrendous crimes.

We hope the prospect of additional payments to victims and bad publicity is not a reason in their opposition. But if not that, what? 

Pope Francis announced last week that bishops who fail to report cases of sex abuse of children and vulnerable adults could be removed from office.

The move was a step in the right direction for a church that has been criticized for not holding bishops accountable for failing to act in cases of clerical sex abuse.

We hope the religious groups and legislators in New York opposing the proposed legislation take the pope’s lead and begin thinking more about the victims of sexual assault than their abusers.

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