NEW YORK
Hudson Valley News Network
By Kathy Welsh
May 2, 2018
CHESTER – Assemblyman James Skoufis announced he co-sponsored and helped pass the Child Victims Act, which allows more victims of childhood sexual abuse to face their abusers in civil or criminal court (A.5885-A).
The measure extends the statutes of limitations for civil and criminal cases and provides a year-long window for past victims who previously missed their statute of limitations to bring their predators to court.
“There’s absolutely nothing more despicable than willfully harming a child,” Skoufis said. “To make a tragic situation even worse, our justice system works all-too-often in favor of these sick individuals, rather than their innocent victims. Childhood victims are often too afraid or traumatized to come forward until they’re adults, and by then the statute of limitations has run out. We must change the law so that more survivors can seek justice and move forward with their lives.”
Each year, over 63,000 children are sexually abused – and that’s just the number of cases that are actually reported, said Skoufis. In reality, countless cases go unreported and many survivors live in silence, Skoufis noted. With such wide support among the public, Skoufis was disappointed the Child Victims Act died in the Senate last year and was not included as part of the state budget this year. 2018
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