CALIFORNIA
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)
By: Roy L. Kaufmann
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is playing an important part in a recent case against a child abuser in Lompoc, California.
One of the lesser known parts of the SCRA is that it puts a hold on the statute of limitations in any case that a servicemember is involved in, according to The American Bar Association. This includes cases brought by or against a servicemember. Under 50 U.S. Code App. § 526, the period during which a servicemember is on active military status cannot be included when calculating any limitation period for filing suit. This element of the law played an essential part in helping a child abuse victim to bring a suit against his abuser.
Eleven years later
One of the problems in litigating child abuse cases is that the victim rarely comes forward early on. Often, it isn’t until years later that he or she is able to face the difficulties involved with bringing his or her abuser to court. As a result, there are some abuse cases that cannot be prosecuted, despite a longer statute of limitations on this type of crime than on many others.
A suit filed Oct. 30 in Los Angeles Superior Court demonstrated just this principle, according to The Lompoc Record. The suit alleges that national and Region 122 officials of the American Youth Soccer Association – the largest youth soccer organization in the United States – allowed Terence Paul Stevens to retain his position as coach after he was arrested and admitted to the abuse. It states that he used his position to gain access to and “groom” youths for sexual abuse.
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