Sex Abuse Victim Wants More Time, NBC Connecticut, March 17, 2010

Sex Abuse Victim Wants More Time

NBC Connecticut
March 17, 2010

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local-beat/Sex-Abuse-Victim-Wants-More-Time-88248337.html

He's told his wife about it but his neighbors don't know, He still doesn't want his identity known and he's never spoken publicly about being a victim of child molestation, until now.

"The Statute of Limitations serves to victimize me again," he said. "Not allowing someone who is 48 and 3 months to seek justice? I'm not too sure what the difference is between someone being 47 and 48 If you're abused you've been abused."

The Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference argues the bill would abuse the Roman Catholic Church, prime target for lawsuits by victims of priests.

"Essentially the Catholic Conference is calling for fairness," said L. Martin Nussbaum, a lawyer from Colorado testifying before the Legislature's Judiciary Committee. He's studied the incidence of child abuse in public schools and juvenile detention facilities, and he's found many more cases involving employees of government entities than cases involving priests, and the government entities can't be sued.

He finds three flaws in the bill, he said. "Public and private entities should be treated the same. It should not be retroactive. And it should prevent child abuse, not encourage people to delay giving notice of the problem."

Wesley Horton, siding with the Church in this case, told the legislators victims of sex abuse already have a more generous statute of limitations than the estates of victims of murder. "Unless somebody is convicted you have thirty years to bring the case now for sexual abuse. In murder cases you only have two to five years," he said.

A West Hartford representative with thirteen victims of one molester in her district made the case that some crimes could be worse than murder. "This crime against children is so wicked that there should be no statute of limitations," said Rep. Beth Bye, (D) West Hartford.