NEW YORK
Chelsea Now
June 14, 2017.
BY PAUL SCHINDLER | Legislators aiming to relax New York’s unusually stringent statute of limitations on sexual abuse of minors remain hopeful that, with the State Assembly already having taken action, the State Senate could yet follow suit before the session ends next week. According to out gay West Side Senator Brad Hoylman, “The Governor’s office is still talking about” a program bill could eliminate time limitations on child abuse survivors filing criminal actions and ease such limitations on civil action.
Currently, childhood sexual abuse survivors must either make a criminal complaint or file a civil lawsuit by age 23. Experts agree it can often take decades for a survivor to be ready to come forward.
Last week, the Democratic Assembly, by a vote of 139-7, adopted Upper West Side Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal’s Child Victims Act, which would allow victims to bring criminal cases up to the age of 28, file civil suits up to age 50, and allow what essentially is an 18-month look-back window for abuse survivors whose cases couldn’t be brought under current law to step forward.
Hoylman’s companion bill in the Senate — which would eliminate any statute of limitations on criminal or civil action — was denied a hearing in the Judiciary Committee earlier this year by the Republican Majority and diverted to the Rules Committee, where Hoylman said “it will never see the light of day.” Hoylman’s hope for overcoming the GOP’s resistance has been for Cuomo to follow through on a January commitment to eliminate all limits on the time a victim can come forward with a criminal complaint, allow civil suits to be filed for up to 50 years after any abuse, and create the look-back the Assembly approved.
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