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  Sex Abuse Has No Limitations

By Scott Trobec
St. Cloud Times [Minnesota]
April 18, 2005

A recent story in the St. Cloud Times ("Bail set for man accused of sex abuse," April 6) said a Stearns County man was charged in the sexual abuse of three young girls more than 20 years ago. While readers may have been struck by the fact that these victims would wait 20 years to report their crime, their case is not unusual. Because of the effects of guilt, shame and responsibility, child victims of sex abuse often suffer years of trauma, which will frequently cause them not to report the abuse until much later in life, or in some cases, never.

It should be our hope that this case will finally bring justice and peace of mind to these courageous victims, as well as awareness to the difficult issue of reporting child sex abuse.

In an effort to hold offenders who have never been criminally prosecuted accountable, and to deter them from further abuse, Survivors Network Minnesota, a volunteer self-help organization of sexual abuse victims and their supporters, is advocating a clarification of the Minnesota law that would allow child sex abuse victims (as many other states do) to bring civil actions beyond the current six-year statute of limitations.

This change would affirm that post traumatic stress can cause a child victim of sex abuse to delay reporting, and recognizes that it is never too late to report a sex offender and prevent further victimization.

Law enforcement officials often cite child sex abuse as one of the most under reported crimes in the nation. But if we are ever going to make headway in the fight against child sex abuse, we must do everything we can to help victims confront their perpetrators.

When a survivor of sexual abuse is silent, it only benefits the offender and puts additional children at risk.

Because we know that many child sex abusers continue to abuse throughout their lives, breaking that silence, and bringing an offender to justice in either the criminal or civil courts, can be very important in preventing future abuse.

To encourage reporting later in life, we should restore the right of child sex abuse victims to bring civil cases against their perpetrators beyond the current six-year limitation (a right given to victims in 1989 but taken away by the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1996).

Indeed, the unusual thing about this case is that it is being criminally prosecuted. Child sex abuse cases, even when reported early, are difficult to prosecute.

That's where civil actions like clarifying Minnesota law can help.

These efforts aren't as high profile as the efforts of legislators and the governor to extend sentences and build more prisons, but experience tells us that no one solution will ever solve such a deeply rooted problem in our culture.

Cleary, we need to maximize opportunity to expose this terrible problem and create an environment in which the risk of child abuse is not only minimized, but when it does happen, is recognized and reported. ______________________________________________________________________________________

Scott Trobec, a survivor of child sex abuse and a member of Survivors Network Minnesota, is a practicing CPA in St. Paul.