Repeal the Statute of Limitations:

By Far, The Most Important Reform Issue for Keeping Children Safe

By David Clohessy and Barbara Blaine, leaders of SNAP.

Introduction

Legislatures, child advocates, and parents around the nation are considering numerous reforms to criminal and civil laws to protect children in light of recent child abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, Little League and Boy Scouts. Options range from tightening mandatory reporting laws, to strengthening existing laws.

James Carville, the political strategist behind Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign, kept a potentially chaotic campaign staff focused by repeating a simple mantra: “It’s the economy stupid.” Applied to child abuse scandals the mantra is “It’s prevention, stupid.”

Elimination of the statute of limitations for criminal and civil statues is, by far, the most effective tool for prevention of childhood sexual abuse within institutions. The statute of limitations is the number of years after a victim realizes that she has been harmed or after a certain age that the abuse can be criminally tried or civilly litigated. Lawmakers must eliminate this archaic and dangerously restrictive time limit that prevents childhood sexual abuse victims from seeking justice. Repealing the statute of limitations for civil and criminal laws involving childhood sexual abuse will prevent future abuse by forcing those who oversee children to work harder to protect those children.

Why Is a Repeal of Statute of Limitations So Effective?

Repealing of the statute of limitations is the most effective tool we have for prevention. Take two neighboring dioceses, separated only by the Mississippi River: St. Louis Missouri and Belleville Illinois. During the mid 1990s, twelve abusive priests were publicly removed from ministry in Belleville. Over the same period, none were publicly removed in St. Louis, even though it has five times as many priests!

Why the stark difference? At that time, the statute of limitations in Illinois was “victim-friendly,” enabling those who were wounded to pursue litigation, even years afterwards. Conversely, outdated Missouri statutes and restrictive state Supreme Court rulings made St. Louis church officials virtually immune to any possible legal threat.

Repealing the Statute of Limitations is Cheap and Effective

Extending or eliminating the statute of limitations is the cheapest law enforcement money can buy. To catch more child molesters, we could substantially increase the budgets of police and prosecutors. Or alternatively, we can make a simple legislative reform -- open the courthouse doors -- and let victims expose and remove perpetrators through a peaceful, evidence-based legal processes.

Repealing the statutes appeals to all. Conservatives should support such legislation because it’s a low cost way to prove they are tough on crime. It requires no government regulations, but rather provides real economic incentives for decision-makers of institutions that involved children to do the right thing. Liberals should support such reforms because it gives equal access to our justice system, regardless of when one was victimized. Let’s be honest; punitive penalties are an effective deterrent. The risk of expensive traffic tickets is required to prod motorists to drive more safely. Likewise, the threat of litigation is required to prod churches and other institutions to worker harder at protecting children.

Initial Statutes Were Formed in an Early Era

Times have changed. When legislatures first enacted statutes of limitations, there were no computers or DNA tests. Life spans were shorter.

A repeal of the statute of limitations does not obviate the need for evidence to prove one’s case in court. It only gives the victims a chance to have a day in court.

As sexual abuse victims often point out, there is no “statute of limitations” on the suffering caused by sexual molestation – the pain is pervasive and on-going, despite years of therapy. There is likewise no “statute of limitations” on the molesters – they usually continue victimizing children until they are caught, are imprisoned or die.

There can be no “statute of limitations” on exposing and removing perpetrators from positions of trust and authority, and there should be no “statute of limitations” on protecting children who are at risk.

Numerous District Attorneys Around the Nation Call for the Repeal

District Attorneys throughout the country are calling for a repeal of the statutes and are hampered by the current statutes from even investigating many of the recent allegations from the clergy abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.

Investigation helps the victims and the accused. ''We're prohibited from an effective prosecution and the priests are prohibited from an effective exoneration. That's the injustice for the victims and the guys on the list,'' Bristol County, MA District Attorney Paul Walsh, Jr. on his frustration with his inability to investigate 16 of 21 alleged abusive priests because allegations were beyond the statue of limitations. (Globe 9.27.02) In Cleveland, OH, prosecutors say they investigated 145 priests and cleared only 7. The rest couldn't be prosecuted because of the statute of limitations.

In Waukesha County, WI, Father David Hanser allegedly molested boys for 20 years, but no charges can be filed because the state's statute of limitations has expired. A recently completed sheriff's investigation into complaints about Hanser turned up evidence that Hanser molested as many boys in the1960s, '70s and '80s. District Attorney Paul Bucher said the cases are all too old to prosecute. "I can't turn back the hands of time," Bucher wrote in a letter to sheriff's detectives, saying that he "sadly" could not prosecute.

In Cleveland, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor William Mason's frustration was clear at a news conference as he criticized Ohio's laws for providing an escape hatch for most of the 145 priests against whom sex-abuse allegations were leveled. "Without a doubt, but for the statute of limitations, many more priests would have been indicted," Mason said.

“Mandatory Reporting” is a Weak Solution

Mandatory reporting rarely works. Unfortunately, many legislators take the easy way out. They opt to support “feel good” bills, instead of “do good” bills. They offer cosmetic, piecemeal stabs at protecting kids, when what’s clearly needed are real, substantive reform that will truly make kids safer.

One such example: proposals to make clergy “mandated reporters” of suspected abuse. On paper, these proposals seem logical: Teachers, doctors, social workers and other professionals are required to report suspected child abuse. Why shouldn’t priests and ministers be obligated to do likewise?

We of course support such legislation, but feel it is far less important and effective than extending the statute of limitations. We don’t know of a single priest, church employee or scout master anywhere who has ever been prosecuted under such laws. The penalties are also often pitifully weak (i.e. six months probation or $1,000 fine in Massachusetts for example).

Are these laws better than nothing? Sure. Will they make a big difference? Not really. 

Some lawmakers express concern for the financial well-being of institutions and organizations that could face greater scrutiny. That concern is admirable. However, there is no absolutely no evidence whatsoever to suggest that any group will suffer real financial damage as a result of this legislation. To raise this issue at this juncture is terribly premature and in fact misleading.

In essence, legislators may feel like they have a tough choice. From our perspective, however, it’s a simple one. On one hand you have the theoretical financial harm to one or a few organizations. On the other hand, you have the very real, physical, emotional and spiritual harm done to hundreds or thousands vulnerable citizens: its children.

Powerful Forces Do Not Want a Repeal

Influential lobbyists from insurance companies and the Roman Catholic church are clearly against such a legislative repeal because it would cause lead to more payouts and an increases in frivolous lawsuits, which still require money to defend against and would clog the court system with false cases. In the case of clergy sexual abuse, false allegations are red herring. The church’s own lawyers estimate that false allegations of clergy sexual abuse are less than 2%.

Yet, other crimes like murder do not have a statute of limitations. Why should childhood clergy abuse?

Our Requests to Lawmakers: Act NOW!

Let those who have been sexually abused at least a chance at having their day in court. And let those who employ and supervise molesters be warned that they must become more diligent.

We all know that public attention is fleeting. Now, there is widespread concern about sexual abuse. Next year, despite good intentions to the contrary, these concern may well be gone or greatly diminished. The chance to take decisive and brave steps to genuinely make boys and girls safer is NOW.  Our legislators should not squander this chance.

Five or ten years from now, the scandal will have shifted, from abusive clerics to abusive coaches, or teachers, or summer camp staff or counselors. When that happens, our lawmakers should be able to look themselves in the mirror and realize that in 2003, their wisdom and courage made it possible to stop some molesters, detect and remove other molesters, and thereby allow some innocent kids to escape the life-altering harm that was done to us.

You Can Help

You can make a difference. Lawmakers frequently tell us that phone calls, letters and campaigns by concerned voters makes a material difference in their views.

Determine what is happening in your state by searching the web, calling representatives and checking web sites that monitor legislative actions. Connect with others who share your interest. At www.SurvivorsFirst.org, there is a listing of current initiatives by state along with contact information of others who share your interest. Become educated. We all would like to have all the wonderful reform ideas enacted, but political realities require us to focus on the absolute most essential ones. If you are Catholic or a victim of clergy abuse, do not frame the issue in Catholic or religious terms. Child abuse prevention is not a catholic problem. Prevention of childhood sexual abuse is an imperative for all of society and for all groups (for-profit and non-profit, including all religious institutions). Mentioning the Catholic abuse scandal only confuses the issue. Protecting children is not a separate of church and state issue, nor it is a theological issue. It is a moral issue with which we all should be concerned. Start today.

We can make America safer for our children. Parents should not have to worry when their children or grand children attend Boy Scouts or a catholic summer camp. But, we must need start now. Get involved today.

David Clohessy and Barbara Blaine are leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a Chicago-based nationwide support group for clergy abuse victims. David Clohessey can be contacted at SNAPClohessy@aol.com phone: 314-399-4747.Barbara Blaine can be contacted at SNAPBlaine@hotmail.com phone : 312-645-5915. Information about SNAP is available at www.survivorsnetwork.org.

Paul Baier from Survivor First also contributed to this report. Find information about Survivors First at www.SurvivorsFirst.org