BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News
January 28, 2019
By Tom Precious and Jay Tokasz
Michael F. Whalen Jr. hadn’t even heard of the Child Victims Act last February, when he told reporters in Buffalo that the Rev. Norbert F. Orsolits had sexually abused him as a teenager nearly four decades ago.
But on Monday, Whalen traveled by train to Albany to be recognized for his role in getting the controversial legislation adopted by New York State legislators.
“For me, personally, if I helped it along in any way possible by stepping forward almost a year ago, then yeah, I’m so glad to see it,” Whalen said. “I’m sad to see it’s taken 12 years for it to happen.”
Whalen’s news conference across the street from the Buffalo Diocese’s headquarters led to Orsolits’ stunning admission to The Buffalo News later the same day that he had molested probably dozens of boys.
The Child Victims Act, which unanimously passed the Senate Monday afternoon and is expected to pass the Assembly later in the day, extends the statute of limitations for prosecuting child molesters. It also provides victims like Whalen – who are currently time-barred from filing civil suits – a one-year window to sue private and public institutions, like churches and schools, over abuse that may have occurred decades ago.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to sign into law the bill that changes the statutes of limitations for civil lawsuits and criminal prosecutions over childhood sexual abuse from age 23 to 55 and 28, respectively.
Whalen joined other survivors of childhood sexual abuse victims in the Senate gallery to watch the bill pass, the culmination of a generation of pleading, cajoling and protesting.
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