A grassroots advocacy organization for child sex abuse victims is stepping up the pressure on lawmakers to eliminate the statute of limitations on child sex abuse crimes.
View full sizeAd from Justice4PAKids is hoped with prompt legislators to take up legislation to lift or extend the statute of limitations on child sex abuse crimes.The Patriot-News/file
Justice4PAKids is running advertisements on PennLive and in editions of The Patriot-News with a haunting message that they hope will motivate legislative leaders to act this fall.
It says, “PA legislative leaders: Many victims of child sexual abuse live with this nightmare: ‘He’s still out there.’ And they can’t even talk about he did because the statute of limitations expired.”
Maureen Martinez, co-founder and president of the Malvern-based group focused solely on dealing with this statute of limitations issue, said her group has worked faithfully for nearly three years on getting the statute of limitations on child sex abuse crimes lifted. Yet, any legislation that would alter the statute of limitations has yet to get a vote by the full House or Senate.
And that frustrates Martinez. She said after the child sex scandals involving theArchdiocese of Philadelphia, Jerry Sandusky and the Boy Scouts, “What more needs to happen before we do something about this?”
She said child sex victims sometimes take 30, 40, 50 or more years after becoming an adult before they are ready to speak publicly about what happened to them as a child. But Pennsylvania law cuts off their opportunity to seek criminal prosecution against their abusers at age 50 and to bring civil claims against them at age 30.
Rep. Ron Marsico, R-Lower Paxton Twp., who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, is not ready to bend to the pressure on this issue, yet.
While he maintains that lifting the statute of limitations for civil actions would be unconstitutional, he also has not closed the door on repeating his push for eliminating it for criminal prosecutions that moved out of the Judiciary Committee last year.
“I know it’s an emotional and difficult issue and human nature pushes us to protect the most vulnerable, but we can’t pick and choose which parts of the constitution we want to follow,” Marsico said.
Marci Hamilton, a constitutional law professor at New York’s Yeshiva University, strenuously disagrees with Marsico’s contention that lifting the statute of limitations civilly or criminally in Pennsylvania is unconstitutional.
Further, she said the Pennsylvania courts have decided no cases to indicate even a temporary lifting of the statute of limitations in civil cases is prohibited.
Saying it’s unconstitutional “is a standard argument raised in every state where they are trying furiously” to stop this legislation from advancing, said Hamilton, who has conducted a study of this issue in all 50 states and is regarded as a national expert.
The Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania, however, has said extending or lifting the statute of limitations on these crimes exposes potential suspects and institutions to financial liability for allegations they may have little supporting evidence. Additionally, it maintains it is unfair to insurers to change deadlines after they’ve expired.
The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference maintains it presents an unworkable situation whereby it would have to defend itself in court against decades-old, fading memories of alleged victims. Besides, its spokeswoman Amy Hill argues allowing lawsuits to be filed for sexual abuse cases 30 to 50 years after the fact, “wouldn’t put one perpetrator in jail.”
“Once we get those through, then we’ll consider other proposals,” Marsico said, adding that includes the statute of limitations legislation.
Martinez said she just wants the legislation to reach the House and Senate where all legislators can share what they collectively think about the issue and tweak it to address their concerns.
“But it’s got to get a vote. It’s been many, many years,” she said. “This shouldn’t be that difficult. This issue is about protecting kids.”
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2013-10-08 14:15:482013-10-08 14:54:18Ad seeks to apply pressure lawmakers to act swiftly to lift statute of limitations on child sex abuse cases (Penn Live)
The truth is that the effects of child abuse are long-lasting, not just on its victims but on the health system’s bottom line
Rebecca Reeve
Churches have begun to acknowledge how they ”failed” abused children. Scouts NSW recently told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse it, too, had ”failed” young boys. But such admissions are insufficient if society’s largest institution, government, fails to invest fully in child protection.
At a time when governments are increasingly driven by fiscal restraint, it is important that public spending decisions around complex issues such as child protection consider not just the short-term effects but also the longer-term costs and benefits – in the case of child abuse, for both the victims and society as a whole.
Research published in the journal Economic Record and conducted by Dr Kees van Gool and myself at the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation shows that in addition to the human cost of child abuse there are lasting health effects for victims and therefore substantial and very long-term costs for the health system.
We used the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ National Survey of Mental Health and Well-being to measure the effect of childhood physical abuse, sexual abuse and ”combined” physical and sexual abuse on long-term health problems and self-harming behaviour into adulthood.
Advertisement
The results indicate that, after controlling for other factors, Australian adults abused in childhood suffer from more physical and mental health problems and have higher annual healthcare costs than adults who were not abused.
While the effects differ by gender and abuse type, the findings show that adults with a history of abuse are more likely to experience drug and alcohol problems and to have attempted suicide.
In all cases the outcomes are worst for victims of combined physical and sexual abuse.
We found that the average annual healthcare costs of people who had been sexually abused as children were more than double those of the people who had not been abused. For those who had been both sexually and physically abused, annual healthcare costs as adults were six times higher.
The study also found the probability that a woman would attempt suicide rose from 1.2 per cent within the general community to 17.5 per cent among women who had suffered combined physical and sexual child abuse.
Among men, the probability of drug abuse rose from 7.5 per cent generally to 25.8 per cent for those who had suffered combined abuse.
The probability of alcohol abuse increased from 6.6 per cent for women who had not been abused to 17.9 per cent for women who had suffered combined abuse. For men, the probability rose from 32.1 per cent to 49.8 per cent.
The effects of abuse persist throughout a victim’s lifetime, our research indicates.
There are also long-term societal consequences because of the effects that self-harming behaviour has on a victim’s friends and family.
That means child abuse is a serious economic as well as social problem because of the implications for healthcare budgets, with these costs borne not just by the individual but by the broader community.
Therefore it is imperative that governments consider the persistent health and well-being effects of child abuse when they evaluate the costs and benefits of interventions aimed at its prevention.
Our research calls for further reforms in the co-ordination of health and social services to treat victims appropriately and to minimise the long-term physical and mental harms caused by abuse.
Ultimately, the question is not how much child protection we can afford, but how much child protection we can afford not to provide.
Dr Rebecca Reeve is a health economist and research fellow at the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation.
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2013-10-06 23:44:212013-10-06 23:53:57Public pays costs of abuse End SOLs so those responsible have to pay!
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The top deputy of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis resigned his post Thursday as concerns grow over the church’s approach to sex abuse cases involving clergy.
The Rev. Peter Laird explained his sudden departure as vicar general in a statement posted on the archdiocese’s website Thursday afternoon.
“Over the last few years, this Archdiocese has made significant progress in many areas, including how we have strengthened policies and practices regarding clergy misconduct,” Laird said in the statement. “I am hopeful my decision to step aside at this time, along with the formation of a new task force can help repair the trust of many, especially the victims of abuse.”
Archdiocese leaders, staff and priests, he added, “are sincerely committed to proactively addressing these difficult issues.”
Laird was identified in a Sept. 23 MPR News story detailing how the archdiocese knew of the sexual misbehavior of a priest, Fr. Curtis Wehmeyer, yet kept him in the ministry.
MPR reported that Laird received a key 2011 memo on the allegations against Wehmeyer, who later pleaded guilty to sexually abusing two boys, ages 12 and 14, and possessing child pornography.
A judge sentenced Wehmeyer to five years in prison, a term he is now serving.
Following the MPR News story, a group representing people who have been abused by priests called for a criminal investigation of the archdiocese regarding Wehmeyer.
On Thursday, Attorney Jeff Anderson called Laird’s resignation an “unprecedented” but insufficient move by the archdiocese in response to allegations of abuse.
“The resignation of Vicar General Laird is only just a gesture. That means they are obviously aware something needed to be done, and somebody needed to fall. And they chose him to be the one,” said Anderson, the St. Paul attorney who’s filed lawsuits on behalf of thousands of victims of sexual abuse across the country.
Anderson said a grand jury should be convened and evidence should be seized from the archdiocese.
Laird, who was a rising star within the archdiocese, was named vicar general in October 2009 at age 43. Before that, he served as vice rector of the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity. Besides degrees in theology, he also holds a law degree from the University of Wisconsin, according to his archdiocese biography.
“Father Laird’s decision to resign was unexpected and was his decision alone,” said Archdiocese spokesman Jim Accurso. “He did nothing improper. This is an opportunity for a fresh start in leadership.”
MPR requested an interview with Laird but he was not available
(Copyright 2013 by MPR/KARE. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. )
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2013-10-06 17:56:342014-01-07 23:26:48This is what happens when a window is passed
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Prosecutors and the parents of molestation victims are supporting a proposed Missouri Constitutional amendment that would allow evidence of past criminal behavior to be used in child sex abuse prosecutions.
Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd says Missouri is unusually restrictive in what it allows prosecutors to tell jurors.
The Kansas City Star reports that Zahnd wrote the proposed amendment that will voters will consider in fall 2014.
One Platte County case illustrates how the issue plays out in court.
Fifty-four-year-old Daryl D. Lemasters was sentenced in August to 180 years in prison for repeatedly sexually assaulting two girls.
Their mother says Lemasters might have been persuaded to plead guilty and spared her daughters the ordeal of testifying if prosecutors had been able to tell jurors about previous allegations.
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2013-10-04 23:19:232013-10-04 23:19:23MO needs SOL reform too! (AP)
MA Action Alert: Call (or fax) MA Sen. and House Leaders to Get Window Bill, Bill H. 1455 (& Senate Bill S.633), out of the Joint Judiciary Committee
Hon. Robert A. DeLeo
Speaker of the House
State House, Room 356
Boston, MA 02133
Phone: 617-722-2500
Fax: 617-722-2008
District Office
220 Beach Street
Revere, MA 02151
Phone: 781-289-8965
Fax: 781-289-0582
Hon. Therese Murray
President of the Senate
State House, Suite 332
Boston, MA 02133
Phone: 617-722-1500
Fax: 617-248-3840
District Office
10 Cordage Park Circle
Room 229
Plymouth, MA 02360
Phone: 508-746-9332
Fax: 508-746-4910
Urge leadership to protect kids — not the institutions that endanger them!
Piecing together the details of a decades-old child sexual assault case is a daunting task. The Warren County Prosecutor’s Office is on such a trail right now, having initiated a criminal investigation spurred by allegations made against former Warren County Sheriff Edward Bullockin a civil suit.
The suit, filed by attorney Brad Russo, alleges that Bullock sexually assaulted his client, now in his thirties, in the 1980s — when he was between the ages of 8 and 11, while under the sheriff’s supervision. (The suit does not identify Bullock as a defendant. However, he was the sheriff from 1982 until his resignation in 1991 — within the time frame of the allegations.)
The existence of such claims can’t come as a shock to anyone who has followed Bullock’s criminal history. In an investigation into his behavior in the early 1990s, Bullock admitted he used his authority over boys at Warren Acres, the county’s youth detention center, to cultivate future sex partners, according to state police. Bullock told investigators he had sexual contact with eight boys he met at Warren Acres. He was never charged in connection with those incidents, according to state police, because the boys had been discharged from Warren Acres and were 16 or older, the state’s age of consent.
However, Bullock was caught in a state police sting and charged with seeking sexual favors from a trooper posing as a teenage boy. In 1992 he pleaded guilty to sex-related official misconduct, and in a plea deal with the attorney general’s office, served nine months in Hunterdon County jail. He was allowed to continue collecting a public pension of $19,000 a year. He’s now 86 and living in a shore community.
And for 20 years, that was the end of the story.
Until now. Warren County ProsecutorRichard Burke recently opened a criminal probe against Bullock, after the civil suit was filed. Among other things, the suit alleges that county employees knew of the abuse but failed to report it.
Because of a potential conflict of interest — Burke’s office could be in the position of prosecuting a case involving Bullock while a civil suit proceeds against the county — both Russo and Burke have asked the attorney general’s office to intervene.
It should. The criminal and civil cases deserve to proceed without a taint of conflict. The attorney general’s office should take over the criminal probe or assign it to a county that has no connection with Warren County and its sheriff’s staff.
More important, though, are the rights of the victim here — to seek damages if the evidence, dog-eared as it may be, shows that a county employee abused a child assigned to his care. If evidence surfacing as part of the civil case supports criminal charges, a prosecution should go forward as well.
There are other legal issues to be sorted out, including adherence to the statute of limitations. While New Jersey has no time limit on criminal prosecutions in cases alleging of child sexual abuse, the standard is different for civil suits. They must be filed within two years after a victim discovers he or she had been injured by the abuse.
That can be difficult to prove or disprove. Pennsylvania law is clearer, requiring child-abuse victims to file civil claims by the age of 30. Last year New Jersey legislators, reacting in part to the Jerry Sandusky scandal, sought to amend the law to give child-abuse victims a 30-year period after turning 18 to seek damages in civil court. That bill failed, but this type of reform should be reconsidered.
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2013-09-28 18:09:072013-09-28 18:09:07Even law enforcement
/in Pennsylvania /by SOL ReformAd seeks to apply pressure lawmakers to act swiftly to lift statute of limitations on child sex abuse cases
on October 08, 2013 at 7:18 AM, updated October 08, 2013 at 7:19 AM
Justice4PAKids is running advertisements on PennLive and in editions of The Patriot-News with a haunting message that they hope will motivate legislative leaders to act this fall.
It says, “PA legislative leaders: Many victims of child sexual abuse live with this nightmare: ‘He’s still out there.’ And they can’t even talk about he did because the statute of limitations expired.”
Maureen Martinez, co-founder and president of the Malvern-based group focused solely on dealing with this statute of limitations issue, said her group has worked faithfully for nearly three years on getting the statute of limitations on child sex abuse crimes lifted. Yet, any legislation that would alter the statute of limitations has yet to get a vote by the full House or Senate.
Arguments that it is unconstitutional, along with ones raised by the Pa. Catholic Conference and Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania that it is misguided and unfair have stymied the statute of limitations legislation thus far.
And that frustrates Martinez. She said after the child sex scandals involving theArchdiocese of Philadelphia, Jerry Sandusky and the Boy Scouts, “What more needs to happen before we do something about this?”
She said child sex victims sometimes take 30, 40, 50 or more years after becoming an adult before they are ready to speak publicly about what happened to them as a child. But Pennsylvania law cuts off their opportunity to seek criminal prosecution against their abusers at age 50 and to bring civil claims against them at age 30.
Lifting the statute of limitations on civil actions, even temporarily as Rep. Mike McGeehan, D-Philadelphia, and Sen. Rob Teplitz, D-Harrisburg, have proposed, would allow victims to publicly identify their abusers without fear of getting sued for slander so others could be alerted, Martinez said.
Rep. Ron Marsico, R-Lower Paxton Twp., who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, is not ready to bend to the pressure on this issue, yet.
While he maintains that lifting the statute of limitations for civil actions would be unconstitutional, he also has not closed the door on repeating his push for eliminating it for criminal prosecutions that moved out of the Judiciary Committee last year.
“I know it’s an emotional and difficult issue and human nature pushes us to protect the most vulnerable, but we can’t pick and choose which parts of the constitution we want to follow,” Marsico said.
Marci Hamilton, a constitutional law professor at New York’s Yeshiva University, strenuously disagrees with Marsico’s contention that lifting the statute of limitations civilly or criminally in Pennsylvania is unconstitutional.
Further, she said the Pennsylvania courts have decided no cases to indicate even a temporary lifting of the statute of limitations in civil cases is prohibited.
Saying it’s unconstitutional “is a standard argument raised in every state where they are trying furiously” to stop this legislation from advancing, said Hamilton, who has conducted a study of this issue in all 50 states and is regarded as a national expert.
The Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania, however, has said extending or lifting the statute of limitations on these crimes exposes potential suspects and institutions to financial liability for allegations they may have little supporting evidence. Additionally, it maintains it is unfair to insurers to change deadlines after they’ve expired.
The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference maintains it presents an unworkable situation whereby it would have to defend itself in court against decades-old, fading memories of alleged victims. Besides, its spokeswoman Amy Hill argues allowing lawsuits to be filed for sexual abuse cases 30 to 50 years after the fact, “wouldn’t put one perpetrator in jail.”
Marsico said his committee’s focus right now is on getting legislation enacted that was recommended by the Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection.
“Once we get those through, then we’ll consider other proposals,” Marsico said, adding that includes the statute of limitations legislation.
Martinez said she just wants the legislation to reach the House and Senate where all legislators can share what they collectively think about the issue and tweak it to address their concerns.
“But it’s got to get a vote. It’s been many, many years,” she said. “This shouldn’t be that difficult. This issue is about protecting kids.”
Justice 4 Pa Kids advertisement
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/comment/the-truth-is-that-the-effects-of-child-abuse-are-longlasting-not-just-on-its-victims-but-on-the-health-systems-bottom-line-20131006-2v282.html#ixzz2gzMfVRDy
/in Uncategorized /by SOL ReformThe truth is that the effects of child abuse are long-lasting, not just on its victims but on the health system’s bottom line
Rebecca Reeve
Churches have begun to acknowledge how they ”failed” abused children. Scouts NSW recently told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse it, too, had ”failed” young boys. But such admissions are insufficient if society’s largest institution, government, fails to invest fully in child protection.
At a time when governments are increasingly driven by fiscal restraint, it is important that public spending decisions around complex issues such as child protection consider not just the short-term effects but also the longer-term costs and benefits – in the case of child abuse, for both the victims and society as a whole.
Research published in the journal Economic Record and conducted by Dr Kees van Gool and myself at the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation shows that in addition to the human cost of child abuse there are lasting health effects for victims and therefore substantial and very long-term costs for the health system.
We used the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ National Survey of Mental Health and Well-being to measure the effect of childhood physical abuse, sexual abuse and ”combined” physical and sexual abuse on long-term health problems and self-harming behaviour into adulthood.
The results indicate that, after controlling for other factors, Australian adults abused in childhood suffer from more physical and mental health problems and have higher annual healthcare costs than adults who were not abused.
While the effects differ by gender and abuse type, the findings show that adults with a history of abuse are more likely to experience drug and alcohol problems and to have attempted suicide.
In all cases the outcomes are worst for victims of combined physical and sexual abuse.
We found that the average annual healthcare costs of people who had been sexually abused as children were more than double those of the people who had not been abused. For those who had been both sexually and physically abused, annual healthcare costs as adults were six times higher.
The study also found the probability that a woman would attempt suicide rose from 1.2 per cent within the general community to 17.5 per cent among women who had suffered combined physical and sexual child abuse.
Among men, the probability of drug abuse rose from 7.5 per cent generally to 25.8 per cent for those who had suffered combined abuse.
The probability of alcohol abuse increased from 6.6 per cent for women who had not been abused to 17.9 per cent for women who had suffered combined abuse. For men, the probability rose from 32.1 per cent to 49.8 per cent.
The effects of abuse persist throughout a victim’s lifetime, our research indicates.
There are also long-term societal consequences because of the effects that self-harming behaviour has on a victim’s friends and family.
That means child abuse is a serious economic as well as social problem because of the implications for healthcare budgets, with these costs borne not just by the individual but by the broader community.
Therefore it is imperative that governments consider the persistent health and well-being effects of child abuse when they evaluate the costs and benefits of interventions aimed at its prevention.
Our research calls for further reforms in the co-ordination of health and social services to treat victims appropriately and to minimise the long-term physical and mental harms caused by abuse.
Ultimately, the question is not how much child protection we can afford, but how much child protection we can afford not to provide.
Dr Rebecca Reeve is a health economist and research fellow at the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation.
Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/comment/the-truth-is-that-the-effects-of-child-abuse-are-longlasting-not-just-on-its-victims-but-on-the-health-systems-bottom-line-20131006-2v282.html#ixzz2gzMfVRDy
This is what happens when a window is passed
/in Minnesota, MN Post Window /by SOL ReformTop deputy of archdiocese resigns amidst scandal
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The top deputy of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis resigned his post Thursday as concerns grow over the church’s approach to sex abuse cases involving clergy.
The Rev. Peter Laird explained his sudden departure as vicar general in a statement posted on the archdiocese’s website Thursday afternoon.
“Over the last few years, this Archdiocese has made significant progress in many areas, including how we have strengthened policies and practices regarding clergy misconduct,” Laird said in the statement. “I am hopeful my decision to step aside at this time, along with the formation of a new task force can help repair the trust of many, especially the victims of abuse.”
Archdiocese leaders, staff and priests, he added, “are sincerely committed to proactively addressing these difficult issues.”
Laird was identified in a Sept. 23 MPR News story detailing how the archdiocese knew of the sexual misbehavior of a priest, Fr. Curtis Wehmeyer, yet kept him in the ministry.
MPR reported that Laird received a key 2011 memo on the allegations against Wehmeyer, who later pleaded guilty to sexually abusing two boys, ages 12 and 14, and possessing child pornography.
A judge sentenced Wehmeyer to five years in prison, a term he is now serving.
Following the MPR News story, a group representing people who have been abused by priests called for a criminal investigation of the archdiocese regarding Wehmeyer.
On Thursday, Attorney Jeff Anderson called Laird’s resignation an “unprecedented” but insufficient move by the archdiocese in response to allegations of abuse.
“The resignation of Vicar General Laird is only just a gesture. That means they are obviously aware something needed to be done, and somebody needed to fall. And they chose him to be the one,” said Anderson, the St. Paul attorney who’s filed lawsuits on behalf of thousands of victims of sexual abuse across the country.
Anderson said a grand jury should be convened and evidence should be seized from the archdiocese.
Laird, who was a rising star within the archdiocese, was named vicar general in October 2009 at age 43. Before that, he served as vice rector of the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity. Besides degrees in theology, he also holds a law degree from the University of Wisconsin, according to his archdiocese biography.
“Father Laird’s decision to resign was unexpected and was his decision alone,” said Archdiocese spokesman Jim Accurso. “He did nothing improper. This is an opportunity for a fresh start in leadership.”
MPR requested an interview with Laird but he was not available
(Copyright 2013 by MPR/KARE. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. )
Jason Rima
/in Missouri /by SOL ReformConstitutional Amendment Allows More Evidence In Child Sex Abuse Cases
By Jason Rima
CREATED OCT. 3, 2013
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Prosecutors and the parents of molestation victims are supporting a proposed Missouri Constitutional amendment that would allow evidence of past criminal behavior to be used in child sex abuse prosecutions.
Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd says Missouri is unusually restrictive in what it allows prosecutors to tell jurors.
The Kansas City Star reports that Zahnd wrote the proposed amendment that will voters will consider in fall 2014.
One Platte County case illustrates how the issue plays out in court.
Fifty-four-year-old Daryl D. Lemasters was sentenced in August to 180 years in prison for repeatedly sexually assaulting two girls.
Their mother says Lemasters might have been persuaded to plead guilty and spared her daughters the ordeal of testifying if prosecutors had been able to tell jurors about previous allegations.
ACTION ALERT: Massachusetts
/in Massachusetts /by SOL ReformHon. Robert A. DeLeo
Speaker of the House
State House, Room 356
Boston, MA 02133
Phone: 617-722-2500
Fax: 617-722-2008
District Office
220 Beach Street
Revere, MA 02151
Phone: 781-289-8965
Fax: 781-289-0582
Hon. Therese Murray
President of the Senate
State House, Suite 332
Boston, MA 02133
Phone: 617-722-1500
Fax: 617-248-3840
District Office
10 Cordage Park Circle
Room 229
Plymouth, MA 02360
Phone: 508-746-9332
Fax: 508-746-4910
Edward Bullock
/in Uncategorized /by SOL ReformPiecing together the details of a decades-old child sexual assault case is a daunting task. The Warren County Prosecutor’s Office is on such a trail right now, having initiated a criminal investigation spurred by allegations made against former Warren County Sheriff Edward Bullockin a civil suit.
The suit, filed by attorney Brad Russo, alleges that Bullock sexually assaulted his client, now in his thirties, in the 1980s — when he was between the ages of 8 and 11, while under the sheriff’s supervision. (The suit does not identify Bullock as a defendant. However, he was the sheriff from 1982 until his resignation in 1991 — within the time frame of the allegations.)
The existence of such claims can’t come as a shock to anyone who has followed Bullock’s criminal history. In an investigation into his behavior in the early 1990s, Bullock admitted he used his authority over boys at Warren Acres, the county’s youth detention center, to cultivate future sex partners, according to state police. Bullock told investigators he had sexual contact with eight boys he met at Warren Acres. He was never charged in connection with those incidents, according to state police, because the boys had been discharged from Warren Acres and were 16 or older, the state’s age of consent.
However, Bullock was caught in a state police sting and charged with seeking sexual favors from a trooper posing as a teenage boy. In 1992 he pleaded guilty to sex-related official misconduct, and in a plea deal with the attorney general’s office, served nine months in Hunterdon County jail. He was allowed to continue collecting a public pension of $19,000 a year. He’s now 86 and living in a shore community.
And for 20 years, that was the end of the story.
Until now. Warren County ProsecutorRichard Burke recently opened a criminal probe against Bullock, after the civil suit was filed. Among other things, the suit alleges that county employees knew of the abuse but failed to report it.
Because of a potential conflict of interest — Burke’s office could be in the position of prosecuting a case involving Bullock while a civil suit proceeds against the county — both Russo and Burke have asked the attorney general’s office to intervene.
It should. The criminal and civil cases deserve to proceed without a taint of conflict. The attorney general’s office should take over the criminal probe or assign it to a county that has no connection with Warren County and its sheriff’s staff.
More important, though, are the rights of the victim here — to seek damages if the evidence, dog-eared as it may be, shows that a county employee abused a child assigned to his care. If evidence surfacing as part of the civil case supports criminal charges, a prosecution should go forward as well.
There are other legal issues to be sorted out, including adherence to the statute of limitations. While New Jersey has no time limit on criminal prosecutions in cases alleging of child sexual abuse, the standard is different for civil suits. They must be filed within two years after a victim discovers he or she had been injured by the abuse.
That can be difficult to prove or disprove. Pennsylvania law is clearer, requiring child-abuse victims to file civil claims by the age of 30. Last year New Jersey legislators, reacting in part to the Jerry Sandusky scandal, sought to amend the law to give child-abuse victims a 30-year period after turning 18 to seek damages in civil court. That bill failed, but this type of reform should be reconsidered.