CALIFORNIA
Orange County Register
By JIM BEALL / For the Register
I introduced Senate Bill 131 because I do not believe an organization that knowingly protects employees who sexually abuse children in the workplace should escape responsibility for the harm it caused. SB131 is about justice. This bill seeks to give the adult survivors of childhood molestation their day in court against the institutions that enabled their abusers.
I introduced SB131 after listening to victims plagued with depression and anger fueled by the heinous crime inflicted upon them as innocents. For these victims, their agony is compounded because a quirk in the law denies them the opportunity to obtain justice against their abuser.
Our laws must work for victims of crimes, not against them. That’s why SB131 is supported by health care professionals such as the California Nurses Association and by law enforcement agencies such as the Peace Officers Research Association, the California Association of Chiefs of Police, and prosecutors, including the district attorneys of Santa Clara and San Diego counties.
“This bill will allow those who have suffered for years in private the public support they need to come forward and seek compensation,” San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis wrote in support of SB131. “This bill gives a voice to those who have suffered in silence way too long.”
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