Child Victims Act Signed into Law
By Rachel Silberstein
The bill signing took place in the New York Daily News' Manhattan newsroom. The tabloid had crusaded for child victims and their advocates for years, shaming lawmakers and opponents of the bill on its front page and in editorials as the measure repeatedly stalled in the formerly Republican-controlled state Senate. With Democrats in control, it passed the chamber unanimously last month. "This is society's way of saying we are sorry," Cuomo said. "We are sorry for what happened to you. We are sorry that it took so long for us to recognize what happened to you." Marci Hamilton, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a national leader in the movement to secure justice for victims of child abuse, commended the newspaper and its statehouse bureau chief Ken Lovett for doggedly covering the issue. The new law, which goes into effect immediately, allows victims up until age 28 to press charges for felony abuse, and up to age 26 to file charges for misdemeanor sexual abuse crimes. For civil cases, the statute of limitations has been extended from age 28 to age 50. The bill includes a "look-back window" that grants past victims of abuse a year to bring decades-old claims in civil court against their alleged abusers. That provision drew strong opposition from religious and educational institutions. Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, who co-sponsored the bill with Sen. Brad Hoylman, thanked victims and advocates for allowing her to be a "foot soldier" in their fight for justice. "I don't know that there is anything more important that I could have done with my life thus far," she said.New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, center, winks and gives a thumbs-up after signing the Child Victims Act in New York, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. Cuomo has signed into law long-sought legislation that extends the ... more
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