A bill which would extend the civil statute of limitations on child molestation cases passed through a state Senate committee this week. The Virginia Senate Courts of Justice Committee voted Monday in favor of a proposal that would extend the number of years in which victims of childhood molestation can file lawsuits against their perpetrators from two to 20 years.
The bill would allow victims to report abuse up to 20 years after they become adults or after the crime is discovered.
This proposal would alter the civil statute of limitations surrounding child sexual abuse cases. There is no criminal statute of limitations for felony child sexual abuse cases. Advocates of the new proposal support the 18-year extension because they claim many child victims of sexual assault are unable to acknowledge the trauma they endured until years later. "Consider that the victims of child sexual violence will sometimes take years to realize and identify that they have been the victims of child abuse," said Rev. C. Douglas Smith , executive director of the Virginia Interfaith Center. "What we should be doing as a society is to encourage them to seek justice and helping them to understand that is wasn't their fault. The most insidious thing about child sexual violence is that predators make the victims think it is their fault."
State Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, supported the extension after speaking with victims and finding their testimony "very moving." He said he found some victims took years to cope with the assault and that two years was too short a time frame to decide whether to bring charges or not. The selection of 20 years, he said, was not a significant number.
The proposed number of years for the statute of limitations is "always arbitrary to some extent, but I think most people agree that two years is entirely too short for an injury of this nature," Edwards said. "Each of them spoke about being victims of child sexual abuse, and it traumatized them long-term and took them a long time to start dealing with it."
The Catholic Church has opposed the bill as part of its nationwide effort to lobby against high statues of limitations, The Daily Progress reported Monday. Under a longer civil statute of limitation, the Church would be more vulnerable to lawsuits claiming clergymen committed acts of child molestation.
Smith objected to this approach to the legislation.
"We have made sure that legislators in Richmond understand that this is not a Catholic issue," he said. "It is an issue about victims. And that 20 years provides victims more justice in the courts than the two years we currently have or the eight years voted on by the House."
Del. David Albo, R-Fairfax County currently supports an extension.
"The reason this is a good bill, is [because] unlike other personal injury situations, the victim in child sex abuse does not necessarily know that what was done to him or her is illegal," he said.\nState Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax City, however, opposes the bill. He told The Washington Post the extension is too long.
"When you have a statute of limitations of 20 years, defendants are basically left defenseless," he said.
The legislation ultimately will be taken up by the State Senate.
Read More
U.Va. researchers identify that HIV drugs can protect against Alzheimer’s disease
By Lauren Seeliger | 2 days agoDoctor Jayakrishna Ambati and his research team have begun work on a new drug called K9 which could treat and prevent Alzheimer’s.
Graduating students share their future plans as they enter the job market
By Nina Broderick | 3 days agoMany students find the Career Center to be a valuable tool during the job search and application process.
U.Va.’s Finals Weekend spotlights the achievement and service of the Class of 2025
By Leigh Bailey | 5 days agoIn University President Jim Ryan’s welcome address, he acknowledged the support of family members and friends present in the audience and beyond that played supportive roles in these graduates’ lives.
