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  Lawmaker: Assembly to Consider Change in Law Shielding Nonprofits in Child Sex Cases

By Angela Delli Santi
Associated Press, carried in Newsday [Trenton NJ]
December 6, 2005

TRENTON, N.J. -- A year and a half after the state Senate voted to change the law shielding charities from liability in child sex assault cases, the state Assembly appears poised to finally consider the legislation next week.

The bill would grant new powers to child sex abuse victims in New Jersey, where the law now protects schools, churches and other nonprofits from being held liable for criminal actions of their employees.

New Jersey is one of only three states in the country with charitable immunity laws still on the books. The others are Alabama and Tennessee.

The bill would allow sex abuse victims to pursue lawsuits and collect damages from an organization if they can show that it acted negligently by hiring or employing sexual predators. Those abused as children could file lawsuits years later as adults.

"I've had discussions with the speaker and the majority leader; they've agreed to put it up for a vote," said Assemblyman Neil Cohen, D-Union, a sponsor of the legislation. "Everyone is now very excited."

Cohen said the bill "should pass overwhelmingly." It needs 41 votes to pass, and would then go to the governor for a signature. Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey supported the measure in the Senate.

"I think the truth is on the march _ the people who are trying to hide and cover up the truth need to know they are not going to be able to continue along these lines," said John Hardwicke Jr., a Maryland graphic artist who alleges he was sexually and emotionally abused for two years beginning in 1969 by administrators and instructors at The American Boychoir School in Princeton, a world-renowned choir school.

"If this passes, it will be a really good day for victims in the state of New Jersey," said Hardwicke, who has fought for years for a remedy in the courts. In a case pending before the state Supreme Court, he contends that the law protecting nonprofits from liability should not apply to sex abuse cases. Justices heard oral arguments in November 2004, but have not yet ruled.

A sticking point for lawmakers in the proposed legislation was setting a deadline for filing lawsuits against nonprofits in cases when the alleged abuse dates back decades.

As a compromise, the bill being considered will apply to all cases which have not yet reached final resolution in the courts and to all future cases. There is no retroactivity clause, however.

Cohen said the compromise bill is the best lawmakers can do, noting the Catholic church's continuing opposition to the legislation.

"It's extraordinary protection for people in the future and it helps some people whose cases are in the courts," he said. "The time for justice has arrived."