Bill to Amend NJ Statute of Limitations for Sex Abuse Victims Gains Backing

By Deena Yellin
North Jersey Record
December 20, 2018

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2018/12/20/bill-amend-statute-limitations-sex-abuse-victims-gains-backing-nj-legislature-vitale/2300462002/

For nearly 20 years, state Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, has been pushing a bill that would offer victims of sexual abuse more time to bring civil claims against their abusers and the institution that may have enabled the abuse.

His proposed measure, S-477, would amend the statute of limitations on filing charges against child sex abusers and would raise the age threshold for filing civil suits to 55, or a seven-year discovery rule, whichever is longer.

Current laws demand that civil action be filed within two years after a victim turns 18.

"For a lot of victims, it takes many years to come to terms with the abuse," Vitale said. "My legislation would allow victims to file a claim regardless of when they were abused."

The bill would also allow lawsuits that were dismissed because the statute of limitations had expired to be revived.

The legislation has previously stalled because of a lack of support and, Vitale said, protests from church lobbyists.

Now, in the aftermath of the explosive Pennsylvania grand jury report, his bill has gained enough traction to win approval in the Senate and Assembly, Vitale said.

The Pennsylvania report found that the church had covered up the sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by 300 priests, including four who served in New Jersey. It also found that the church did not allow victims to obtain justice.

"It was a game changer. A lot of people came up to me and said, 'I want to sign your bill.' Some were pretty devout Catholics," Vitale said.

"I got 17 co-sponsors to sign up in one day, including Republicans," he said.

Pennsylvania and New York are also considering extending the statute of limitations for sexual abuse victims, and other states have approved similar measures.

Mark Crawford of Woodbridge, a survivor of clergy abuse and the New Jersey director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, is grateful to Vitale for his tenacity in pursuing the bill.

"This is absolutely necessary. It will allow victims some form of justice. If we fail to enact legislation, the message we send to perpetrators and institutions is that if you lie and cover up crimes for long enough, we will let you get away with it in New Jersey," Crawford said.

Crawford approached the church years ago to report being abused as a child at the hands of his family priest in Bayonne, but was told there was nothing he could do because the statute of limitations had already passed.

"They told me to just take money and be quiet. But I wasn't looking for money," he said.

The church has long opposed the bill because of its fear of more secrets coming out, said Professor Marci Hamilton of the University of Pennsylvania, who is CEO of CHILD USA, a think tank that helps plan laws to protect children.

"They are sitting on even more information than the public knows about now," Hamilton said. "When the bishops release lists of accused priests, they won't list everyone. … They also will not explain how they decided that these are the names they are releasing.

"The only thing that forces full information out in the open is when people go to the courts," she said.

James Goodness, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Newark, said those who claimed the church was trying to thwart the bill were "entitled to their opinions," but he declined to comment further.

Professor Marci Hamilton (Photo: George Widman Photogaphy LLC)

"Each victim has to decide whether entering into the compensation program will help the victim try to heal, gain a degree of closure and obtain validation," said attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represents more than 25 victims who say they were sexually abused by priests in New Jersey.

"Some victims do not want to enter into a compensation program and instead want to try to obtain full transparency through a court proceeding and are hoping that the Child Victims Act will pass so that transparency can be obtained," he said.

The Catholic Church in New Jersey on Friday announced that it had hired two advocates to set up a victims' compensation and counseling fund. Kenneth R. Feinberg and Camille Biros, who previously set up funds for victims of 9/11 and the Boston Marathon bombing, also put together similar funds for the Catholic Church in New York and Pennsylvania. However, many advocates and clergy abuse survivors are skeptical of the church's motivations.

"The church doesn't want any discovery. They don't want a look back that revives old claims," Vitale said. "The church will say, 'That's what our fund will do,' but survivors shouldn't be made to come to the compensation board if they don't want to. They should be allowed to have their day in court. They should be allowed to have someone shine a light on their story."

When filing a civil claim, the plaintiff and defendant must present details about the alleged abuse during the discovery process. During the church compensation process, none of that occurs, he pointed out.

Vitale said survivors have reason to be wary about the church's opposition to his bill. "Credibly abusive leaders were moved from place to place, and it was known and nobody did anything about it."

He said he is putting finishing touches on the bill now and hopes it will be voted on within the coming month.

"I'm confident it will pass," Vitale said. "It's just a matter of reviewing the language now."