Spencer Proposes Changes to Hidden Predator Act

By Gordon Jackson
The Brunswick News
July 26, 2017

http://thebrunswicknews.com/news/local_news/spencer-proposes-changes-to-hidden-predator-act/article_418f3d6d-ed50-5363-885a-37373c13e0e6.html

The author of a law that enables victims of child sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits against their attackers is proposing new legislation to strengthen the Hidden Predator Act.

State Rep. Jason Spencer, R-Woodbine, will hold a press conference at 9:30 a.m., Aug. 2, at the state capitol in Atlanta, where he will be joined by a bipartisan group of co-sponsors.

Organizations that knowingly cover up child sexual abuse could face civil lawsuits if the Hidden Predator Act of 2018 is approved during the next legislative session. Increasing the statute of limitations age for victims is another goal of the bill.

“I am holding this press conference in light of the recent developments regarding litigation implicating child sexual abuse cover-ups by various organizations,” Spencer said. “The details of these cases highlight the need for new and tougher changes to the current Hidden Predator Act. It is necessary that we address many of the injustices uncovered in recent child sexual abuse litigation and the shortcomings of a shortened statute of limitations.”

So far, no organizations have expressed opposition against the proposed legislation, but Spencer expects some groups to oppose parts of it designed to hold sexual predators who have escaped criminal investigations accountable for their actions. Some people have escaped prosecution because of expired statute of limitation laws that Spencer said don’t give victims enough time to seek justice.

“The thrust of the bill is to identify hidden child sexual predators, root out sex traffickers and complement existing criminal laws with meaningful civil remedies that will provide justice to victims and expose the identity of these predators and their enablers to society,” he said.

The new bill also proposes extending the age to 38 for someone to file a civil suit. The age is 23 under the existing law. The reason for the change, Spencer said, is research shows the average age of disclosure of child sexual molestation for an adult is not until middle to late adulthood.

“Most survivors of child sexual abuse will not disclose until well into adulthood, and it is usually about the time they start having their own children,” he said. “Many times the memories of sexual abuse return when their own children reach the age of when the victim was abused. This extension gives more time to the victim and it puts the perpetrators and enablers on notice that their actions will not be protected by arbitrary time limits set in law.”

Spencer also wants a two-year “retroactive window” that would enable victims to confront their perpetrator in court. Under the existing law, negligent entities were immune from civil claims. The new window will enable a victim to file civil claims against a perpetrator and a negligent entity.

Entities engaging in human sex trafficking would be held to the same evidentiary standard as the perpetrator.

Spencer said the legislation is getting strong public support from victim advocate groups, child protection organizations, district attorneys and Democrat and Republican women’s groups across the state.

“The safety and protection of children should not be political and what I have seen is a wide and broad coalition building to support the passage of House Bill 605,” he said. “We have to go further with new changes to the Hidden Predator Act to bring grossly negligent organizations who were reckless accountable for not protecting children who were trusted in their care. How many more children have they subjected to these monsters?”