Assembly OKs bill to extend statute of limitations on sex abuse

CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times

By Melanie Mason
September 4, 2013

SACRAMENTO — A bill that would give some victims of childhood sexual abuse more time to file lawsuits narrowly passed the Assembly on Wednesday, following emotional appeals from lawmakers and nearly an hour of extended wrangling for votes.

The measure, by Sen. Jim Beall (D-San Jose), would lift the statute of limitations for one year to enable some abuse victims to sue private or nonprofit employers that failed to protect them from known molesters.

Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) spoke of her own childhood abuse in advocating the bill.

“We cannot put a timeline on what triggers our ability to deal with an experience we had as a child,” Skinner said, adding that she did not confront her past until her daughter reached the age when Skinner’s abuse started.

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