LONG ISLAND (NY)
Newsday
December 18, 2017
By Bart Jones
The Child Victims Act would lift the statute of limitations for one year and allow victims to sue their perpetrators.
Advocates on Monday gathered outside the offices of two state senators to press them to help get a long-stalled bill passed in Albany that would temporarily lift the statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases.
The dozen protesters, including victims, university professors and supporters, said the “#MeToo” movement exposing sexual harassment against women is giving renewed life to their campaign, which started more than a decade ago.
“I think I am more hopeful than I have ever been,” said Marci Hamilton, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a leading advocate on the child sex abuse issue. “This is the best chance we’ve ever had with the Senate because of the #MeToo movement.”
The protesters gathered at the offices of state Sens. Elaine Phillips in Mineola and Carl Marcellino in Oyster Bay, both Republicans who narrowly won in the 2016 election. The advocates, who have formed a group called New Yorkers Against Hidden Predators, said they want the senators to pressure Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-East Northport) to release the Child Victims Act out of committee so it can be voted on.
The bill passed the state Assembly this year, but was not taken up by the Senate, where it has languished for years.
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