Murphy Says He’ll Act Soon on Bill to Give Sexual-assault Victims in N.J. More Time to Sue Abusers

By Matt Arco
Star Ledger
May 2, 2019

https://www.nj.com/politics/2019/05/murphy-says-hell-act-soon-on-bill-to-give-sexual-assault-victims-more-time-to-sue-abusers.html

Gov. Phil Murphy is pictured in a file photo.

Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday night he plans to act soon on a bill that would give victims of sexual assault in New Jersey significantly more time to file lawsuits against their abusers.

Speaking about the legislation, which stalled in the state Legislature for decades and was fiercely opposed by the Catholic Church, Murphy said “it’s past due that we honor” people who are victims of abuse.

“While I don’t have a specific day for you, this is coming to a head literally over the next week or two,” the Democratic governor said in response to a listener’s question on WNYC’s “Ask Governor Murphy” radio program.

“The victims deserve their day,” Murphy said. “This has been a long time coming.”

But the governor did not specifically say whether he would sign it into law as is or change some of the language in the legislation with a conditional veto, which would then send it back to the Legislature.

Murphy’s response came as proponents of the measure have stepped up calls for the governor to act.

“It’s been over a month since the state Legislature passed legislation to tackle child sex abuse in New Jersey. What is Governor Murphy waiting for to sign this bill into law?” Bruce Novozinsky, who published a book on abuse by priests in the Diocese of Trenton, asked in a statement on Tuesday.

“For years, I was called a liar and targeted by supporters of the very institution that tried to cover up my abuse and so many others," Novozinsky said. "Countless survivors of child sex abuse who are restricted on taking legal action are depending on Governor Murphy to do the right thing and sign this life-changing bill immediately.”

The state Assembly voted 71-0 with five abstentions in March to approve the measure (S477), which would vastly expand the current two-year statute of limitations for such civil suits to seven years in most cases.

It would also let adults who were sexually assaulted as children to bring a civil suit against an individual or institution, including non-profits, up until the age of 55 or seven years after they make “the discovery" connecting their emotional and psychological injury to their abuse.

Efforts to expand New Jersey’s statute of limitations for rape lawsuits have been ongoing since the late 1990s, but advocates say the Catholic Church’s influence in Trenton kept the movement from picking up steam.

Under the proposed changes, victims who were previously barred from bringing a lawsuit because they had run out of time under the existing law would get an additional two-year window in which to pursue their case.