Child Victims Act gives new hope to abuse survivors

BUFFALO (NY)
WBFO News

January 29, 2019

By Mike Desmond

As the Child Victims Act was being approved Monday, four victims were in an Amherst law firm conference room with their attorneys, talking about their cases and what the new law does for them.

Hogan Willig has long been involved in clergy abuse cases and some of the lawyers have lobbied heavily in Albany for what is called the CVA. Now approved by the New York State Legislature, the act allows abuse victims to re-open their cases in the court system and get a chance to tell their stories.

The law also extends re-openings far beyond the clergy, to private and public schools. Some local private schools have had highly-publicized sex abuse incidents involving teachers.

Victim Vanessa DeRosa said passage is not just about the cases of four victims.

“It’s a big deal because you can’t expect a child to help with an attorney. It’s okay to talk about it now. They can pursue it,” DeRosa said. “A lot of times, they need more time, mentally, to come forward. So it’s not just a big deal for everybody in this room. It’s a big deal for a lot of other people, too.”

Survivor Mike Eames said the Buffalo Catholic Diocese knew what a priest did to him.

“I know they knew,” Eames said. “For years, they knew them.”

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