NEW YORK
News 10
[with video]
By Taryn Kane
ALBANY, N.Y.–A bill some claim would help alleged victims of child sexual abuse has failed in the New York Legislature seven times.
It is currently making it’s way through the Assembly and Senate again.
Legislators behind the bill claim the Catholic Church is the primary opponent each year, consistently lobbying against it.
The church says it is not against the entire bill, just a portion of it. However, Michael DeSantis, an alleged abuse victim, says he was abused by five priests over a period of four years when he was young.
DeSantis says if the whole bill doesn’t pass, justice isn’t being served.
“I cannot be near red wine,” he says. “I cannot take the smell of church wine, because I would smell it on their breaths.”
DeSantis says he repressed his memories until he was 33, making him unable to press charges because the statute of limitations had expired.
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