Coalition to Reform Sex Abuse Laws (CORSAL)

12/12/2014

Thought you would be interested in hearing about this case. We are starting to see clients who are benefiting from your efforts for so many years! Thank you again!

S*X ABUSE CLAIM AGAINST HARVARD MAY PROCEED IN COURT - RETROACTIVITY OF NEW CHILD S*X ABUSE LAW AFFIRMED

In a groundbreaking first test of the new Child S*x Abuse Statute of Limitations law, adopted by the Legislature on June 26th, a Middles*x Superior Court Judge ruled in a decision released today that the law applies, retroactively, to a claim against Harvard University which was pending before the law was passed.

Judge Bruce R. Henry issued a 9 page decision in which he stated: “the Legislature intended that § 4C½ apply retroactively, even in cases brought before its enactment.”

The claim by Stephen Embry alleges that he was s*xually abused by a Harvard swim coach “in the Harvard pool, locker room, and showers on approximately one hundred occasions;” that the coach “s*xually assaulted at least two other young boys in the swimming program;” and he “took numerous n**e photographs of Embry in the Harvard locker room, showers, and pool.” Embry also saw numerous “n**e pictures of other young boys” taken on the Harvard campus.

Copies of the decision and the Complaint are available.

12/12/2014

www.corsal.org

Massachusetts is now rated as one of 5 states with a "Very Good" rating on Statute of Limitations laws in Civil child s*xual abuse cases. Thanks again to all the survivors and advocates who worked with MassKids in 2014 to make this happen.
Read more about what has happened across the nation and the globe in Marci A. Hamilton's review of 2014:
http://verdict.justia.com/2014/12/11/2014-review-ups-downs-child-protection

06/27/2014

More details about how the effort to engage the church, rather than ignore them, helped us achieve this victory...

Nicholas Sciarappa | Jun. 27, 2014PrintemailPDFMassachusetts' Catholic bishops have endorsed a bill that would extend by 32 years the statute of limitations for filing civil suits against alleged perpetrators of s*xual abuse of minors.The bill, approved by the state's House of Representatives June…

06/20/2014

Want to know how do the new and old SOL laws compare?
NEW LAW: Statute of Limitations for child s*xual abuse - age 53
For abuse occurring from this date on, a victim can bring suit against their abuser and the supervisor or employer of the abuser, any time before their 53rd birthday.

For abuse that occurred prior to passage of the new law, a victim who was barred under the old law can now bring suit against their abuser, any time before their 53rd birthday. They are still restricted from bringing suit against the supervisor or employer of the abuser.
OLD LAW: Statute of Limitations for child s*xual abuse - age 18
A victim of child s*xual abuse upon reaching the age of 18 could file suit against their abuser and supervisor or employer of the abuser.
* * *
NEW LAW: Discovery Rule - 7 years
A victim of child s*xual abuse now has 7 years after they reach their 18th birthday, or 7 years from the time they discover or reasonably should have discovered the harm caused by the abuse, to file a complaint.

There is NO age limit to the 7 year discovery rule, e.g. a victim abused at age 15 who does not discover the harm done until they are significantly older may still file a complaint if it is filed within 7 years after they discover the harm done or before their 53rd birthday, whichever is LATER.
The 7 Year Discovery Rule is also retroactive for supervisors and employers, e.g. a victim of child s*xual abuse who is 40 years old and discovers at that time the harm done by the abuse would have until age 47 to file a complaint against the abuser’s supervisor or employer. The victim would have until age 53 to sue their abuser as the time limit is the later of the two ages that is, age 53 or 47 years – 7 years from discovery.)
OLD LAW: Discovery Rule - 3 years
A victim of child s*xual abuse had 3 years after their 18th birthday, or 3 years from the time they discovered or should have discovered the harm caused by the abuse, to file a complaint. There was no retroactive provision for this Discovery Rule.
* * *
NEW LAW: MA Tort Claims for child s*xual abuse claims only
A written notice of intent to file a complaint against an abuser, supervisor or employer is no longer required.
OLD LAW: MA Tort Claims- 2 year notice & 3 Year SOL
There was a required 2-year written notice of intent to file a complaint for suits brought against towns, cities, governments, municipalities and a 3-year SOL.

06/20/2014

Statute of Limitations Bill Passes Unanimously in House and Senate: Advocates and Church Leaders Arrive at Compromise

June 19, 2012, BOSTON, MA – Behind-the-scenes diplomacy over the past several months among legislators, legal experts, child advocates and Church officials has resulted in a bill that will finally provide civil relief for victims of child s*xual abuse who were previously time-barred by law from filing charges against their alleged abusers. The bill moved quickly through the Judiciary Committee, championed by Senator William Brownsberger, recently appointed Senate Co-Chair of the Committee. House sponsor Representative John Lawn shepherded it through to the House where it was passed unanimously on Thursday. Late today, the Senate also confirmed its unanimous support. The bill, which includes an emergency provision, will go into immediate effect upon Governor Patrick’s signing and he is expected to do so.

Any child 18 or younger who is abused after the law goes into effect will now have up to the age of 53 to file civil charges against their alleged abuser and/or against a supervisor and/or the employer of that supervisor. Previously a victim only had up to 3 years past their 18th birthday to file civil charges or until 3 years after they came to understand the harm caused by the abuse. Under the new law, that limited “discovery period” is extended to 7 years. Also, the previous requirement that a survivor give a two-year notice of intent to file charges under the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act has been eliminated, but only for claims of s*xual abuse.

A significant feature of the proposed new law is its retroactivity for survivors. This means that anyone who was s*xually abused in the past and who was time-barred under the old law from filing civil charges against their alleged abuser will now have until the age of 53 to do so.

The new law, however, would not be retroactive for institutions and their supervisors. This means that survivors who believe their past abuse was due to the actions or inactions of an organization and/or a supervisor of that organization, may not file civil charges if they were time-barred under the old law. Only abuse by institutions and supervisors that occurs after the new law goes into effect would be subject to the age 53 provision.

“We are fully aware of the bill’s limitations regarding survivors age 53 or older, as well as the inability of some to file civil charges against institutions which may have been complicit in allowing child s*xual abuse to occur under their watch,”, said Jetta Bernier, director of MassKids, a child advocacy organization that has been involved in the SOL reform fight for several years. “Negotiators were faced with an all-or-nothing choice and so chose to do what was currently possible for the greatest numbers of survivors. We simply could no longer accept the status quo and the protections it provided abusers while disregarding the rights of survivors and potential future child victims,” she said. The group says it is committed to fight for additional reforms and prevention policies in the next legislative session.

Rosanne Sliney, a survivor of child s*xual abuse, who was time-barred under the old law from suing the uncle who abused her from age 5 to 14, expressed the sentiment of many abuse victims. “With this long overdue move, we have finally succeeded in wresting power away from abusers who were largely protected under the old law. Victims now have the power they need to seek justice in the courts, to heal, and to shield more children from s*xual abuse.”

Marci Hamilton, constitutional law scholar and the nation’s foremost legal expert on Statute of Limitations stated: "This law is a good development for Massachusetts survivors. The retroactive age extension to age 53 is innovative and worthy of other states' attention.” However, she raised concerns that the law would still shield the four Massachusetts Dioceses of Boston, Fall River, Springfield and Worcester from potential new suits brought against them by some victims of clergy s*xual abuse. “The failure to include institutions under the retroactive provision shows that Catholic bishops' continue to exert their power in an effort to avoid justice. Still, the retroactive extension of the discovery rule to 7 years beyond discovery for all defendants is an improvement over existing law."

Bills to reform civil and criminal SOLs were introduced in numerous states in 2014, including California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. MassKids and other advocates succeeded in 2009 in extending the state’s criminal SOL. Before then a victim had only up to 15 years past their 16th birthday or by age 31 to file criminal charges against their abuser. Now they have until age 43.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/06/19/senate-passes-bill-give-alleged-s*x-abuse-victims-more-time-file-lawsuits/m91An2iTb0EZSPdsioS4eI/story.html

The Massachusetts Legislature is on the verge of finalizing a bill that will give alleged child s*xual abuse victims an additional 32 years to file civil lawsuits, in a move one expert said will open the door to “thousands” of new cases.

05/09/2014

"It has been three years since the Penn State-Jerry Sandusky horror, and little has been accomplished. Almost as disturbing as the abuse itself are the revelations of institutional bungling of investigations, and sometimes, failure to investigate at all."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ending-s*x-abuse-epidemic-article-1.1777735

Snyder: Every week, we learn of new charges of s*xual abuse and r**e at schools that have allegedly mishandled or hidden complaints by victims. Last week it was Columbia University; the week before, it was Florida State.

01/10/2014

If you or your organization subscribes to the Boston Globe, you could help MassKids and the Enough Abuse Campaign get free advertising space in the paper through their new GRANT program - Globe Readers And Non-profits Together. In the next week, Globe subscribers will receive a gift check for $100 (7-day subscribers) or $50 (on-line subscribers) and can then make the check out to MassKids and return the check to the Globe before March 1. MassKids will be granted ad space to promote the organization based on the total amount readers have donated to them.

The 5 non-profits with the highest donations will be named GRANT award-winners and recognized with an ad in the paper. We have long been wanting to purchase an ad in the Globe to recruit community leaders with an interest in helping promote the work of the Enough Abuse Campaign and this would allow us to outreach to them.

So if you subscribe to the Globe - home delivery or on-line- please look for the GRANT check in the next several days, fill it out to MassKids, and send in to the Globe. Subscribers will have a chance after January 20th to view the list of those nonprofits that have been selected so far. If MassKids name appears on the list early, it could generate more donations from other subscribers. If you work in a large organization, perhaps you might reach out to your colleagues who may be subscribers and encourage them to support MassKids as their GRANT charity. Post a flyer about this at work, forward this post or send a quick email to your friends and relatives who subscribe and ask them to send in their GRANT check for MassKids.

Thanks! We will update you on how this goes.

01/06/2014

NEWS FLASH! Representative Eugene O'Flaherty is expected to resign from his post as House Co-Chair of the Committee on the Judiciary at the end of January to assume a new role as Chief Legal Counsel for Boston Mayor Marty Walsh who was sworn in just a few hours ago. This means that the newly appointed Senate Chair of the Judiciary Committee - Senator Will Brownsberger (a key sponsor of Statute of Limitations reform) will likely find an ally in helping him move the legislation favorably out of the Committee and on to the legislature for a vote. We shouldn't celebrate prematurely but "Happy New Year" has just taken on an exciting new meaning!

01/03/2014

Great news! Senate President Therese Murray has appointed Senator Will Brownsberger to serve as Senate Chair of the Committee on the Judiciary. He replaces Kathryn Clark who is now serving as Representative in Congress.

Senator Brownsberger remarked: "I very much look forward to serving in this role — it will allow me to add additional value on a number of issues that have long been important to me and to my constituents." One of those issues is reform of our state's Statute of Limitations in cases of child s*xual abuse. Senator Brownsberger has been a key proponent of giving survivors of s*xual abuse whose time limits have ended, an opportunity to seek justice in civil court. Passage of SOL reform would also help prevent the s*xual abuse of more children since abusers who have hidden behind the outdated laws would no longer be able to abuse without challenge. Survivors and advocates are hoping that the SOL bills which have been languishing in the Judiciary Committee will finally be voted out favorably so that legislators will be able to vote for passage.

Happy New Year!!

12/03/2013

Those of you who attended the Prevention Summit may recognize the name Robert Kelly from our "Power of Survivors' Voices" lunch discussion; for those of you who didn't attend check out this letter to the editor to hear from Robert on how the Church must move to right side on the s*x crimes bill.
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/ci_24609572/letter-church-must-move-right-side-s*x-crimes

To the Editor of THE EAGLE: Once again, bills have been introduced in the Massachusetts Legislature to reform our outmoded Statutes of

08/02/2013

Read the letter on Statute of Limitations reform bills H1455 and S633 given to Speaker DeLeo and President Murray today and view all of the Representatives that have signed it.

http://www.corsal.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26:letter-to-move-sol-bills-forward&catid=2:all-general

Our thanks to those of you that reached out to your Representatives and convinced them that they should add their support!

CORSAL

08/01/2013

Here is the latest list of House members that have signed onto Sen. Brownsbergers and Rep. Laws's letter in support of civil Statute of Limitations Reform.

Please check to see if your Representative has signed on. If you do not see their name on this list, please call their office now and urge them to sign on. This letter is intended to be sent very soon to Senate President Murray and Speaker DeLeo and may be made publicly available. You need to be sure your elected Representative is on the list. The gathering of signatures from Senators has been done and all who are likely to sign on have already done so. Please focus now on the House side.

There is still time for more sign-ons - make sure your Representative's name is included. Thanks!

Rep. Denise Andrews, Rep. James Arciero, Rep. Brian Ashe, Rep. Cory Atkins, Rep. Matthew Beaton, Rep. Ruth Balser, Rep. Carlo Basile, Rep. Jay Barrows, Rep. James Cantwell, Rep. Gailanne Cariddi, Rep. Tackey Chan, Rep. Coakley-Rivera, Rep. Nick Collins, Rep. Ed Coppinger, Rep. Mark Cusack, Rep. Josh Cutler, Rep. Marjorie Decker, Rep. Geoffrey Diehl, Rep. Stephen DiNatale, Rep. Diana Dizoglio, Rep. Carolyn Dykema, Rep. Lori Ehrlich, Rep. Ann Margaret Ferrante, Rep. Mike Finn, Rep. Sean Garballey, Rep. Denise Garlick, Rep. Tom Golden, Rep. Anne Gobi, Rep. Ken Gordon, Rep. Carlos Henriquez, Rep. Paul Heroux, Rep. Kate Hogan, Rep. Kevin Honan, Rep. Bradley Jones, Rep. Louis Kafka, Rep. John Keenan, Rep. Kay Khan, Rep. Peter Kocot, Rep. Jay Livingstone, Rep. John Mahoney, Rep. Liz Malia, Rep. Brian Mannal, Rep. Ron Mariano, Rep. Paul McMurty, Rep. James Miceli, Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, Rep. Leonard Mirra, Rep. Michael Moran, Rep. Dave Nangle, Rep. Shauna O’Connell, Rep. Keiko Orrall, Rep. Thomas Petrolati, Rep. Denise Provost, Rep. Angelo Puppolo, Rep. Dave Rogers, Rep. John W. Scibak, Rep. Frank Smizik, Rep. Tom Stanley, Rep. Walter Timilty, Rep. Adam Vega, Rep. Dave Viera, Rep. Chris Walsh, Rep. Steve Walsh, Rep. Dan Winslow