NEW YORK
DNA Info
By Jeanmarie Evelly | May 12, 2017
@jeanmarieevelly
LONG ISLAND CITY — In the state of New York, victims of childhood sexual abuse have only until their 23rd birthdays to seek justice against their abusers — though the effects of abuse often last much longer, survivors say.
“I can tell you this is a lifelong problem,” said Shaun Dougherty, 47, a Queens restaurant owner who was molested by a priest and teacher at his Pennsylvania Catholic school starting at the age of 10.
“I’ve met 81-year-olds that cry at the drop of a hat, because they remember,” he said. “I have heard the most horrific acts done to children that you can imagine, and 78-year-old people recalling it like it happened this morning.”
Dougherty, who now runs Crescent Grill, a successful farm-to-table eatery in Long Island City, is among a group of abuse survivors fighting to change New York’s statute of limitations for sex crimes committed against children.
He and other advocates are pushing for passage of the Child Victims Act, urging lawmakers to vote on the bill — which has been languishing in the State Senate’s judiciary committee since January — before the current legislative session ends this spring.
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