TO:                  All Legislators

FROM:            Senator Julie Lassa and Representatives Sandy Pasch & Chris Taylor

DATE:            May 29, 2013

RE:                  Co-Sponsorship of LRB 2111 and 1056, the “Child Victim’s Act” relating to the statute of limitations for sexual assault of a child.

 

Under current state law, civil actions in childhood sexual abuse cases must be brought forward by a victim before he or she reaches the age of 35.  Most survivors of childhood sexual abuse don’t report the sexual abuse until well into adulthood, if ever, and are barred by a statute of limitation from bringing an action against their perpetrator if the survivor is over the age of 35.  As a result, these victims are never able to prosecute their abuser and begin the healing process.

 

LRB 2111 and 1056 will remove this arbitrary limitation that has shut the courthouse doors to many survivors of childhood sex abuse who haven’t been able to deal with the attack until much later in their lives.  The Child Victim’s Act is modeled after successful legislation in several states, including Minnesota, that now hold offenders accountable for their brutal crimes against children regardless of when those crimes were committed.  These bills also allow for a two year “window” for victims over the age of 35 who are currently barred from bringing an action to court to bring the perpetrator to justice.

 

Statutes of limitations are a particular problem when it comes to childhood sexual abuse.  Most sexually abused children are molested by family members or authority figures, and the pressure is strong not to disrupt their own home, school or church. Young victims are often threatened by adult perpetrators if they reveal the crime, and the shame and confusion children feel is frequently enough to keep them silent.  As adults, it may take victims years to come to grips with their experience and build the courage they need to identify their abuser and begin civil or criminal action.  By the time they’re ready to do so, the statutes of limitations may have expired; it may be too late for justice to be done.

 

These arbitrary deadlines do more than just rob child sexual abuse victims of their day in court.  They endanger every child in our community, because they decrease the likelihood that people who prey sexually on children will be identified and stopped.   And we know that pedophiles, if given the opportunity, will continue to seek out new victims.  Research has shown that these child molesters and rapists will have over 80 – 100 victims during a life time and will continue to victimize children well into their 60s and beyond.

 

In Wisconsin, one in five kids will be sexually abused by age 18, 90 percent of child sexual abuse is never reported to law enforcement authorities and 30 percent of victims never tell anyone.   As a result, the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect estimates that only about three percent of child molesters are ever caught.   That raises the specter of hundreds of pedophiles walking the streets of Wisconsin towns, safe in the knowledge that they are protected by the law from ever being held accountable for their deeds.

 

In California, where a similar time window for retroactive suits was enacted, 300 previously unknown child sex abusers were identified as a result.  

 

There have been objections raised to the Child Victims Act by people who worry that creating a window for retroactive suits will encourage false claims, or that the accused will have difficulty defending themselves against charges for an act that may have occurred 20 or 30 years ago.   The fact is that the burden of proof is on the person claiming the abuse.  Bringing a suit for sex abuse, especially against a family member or a respected individual takes a lot of courage, because one must relive the traumatic events before the entire community.  And, as we have seen in other states, the number of false claims amounts to just a handful and that, even after many years, there is evidence in many cases that supports the victim’s claims.  It shouldn’t matter when victims of childhood sexual abuse come forward – it should only matter that they eventually do.

 

These bills are supported by the Wisconsin Coalition of Sexual Assault, the Wisconsin Council on Domestic Violence, the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin including its affiliated agencies and programs (Community Services, Child Advocacy Centers, prevent Child Abuse Wisconsin, Child Abuse Prevention Fund), Stop Child Predators, the National Association to Prevent Sexual Abuse of Children and the National Association of Social Workers.

 

We hope that you will join us in support of this important piece of legislation.  If you wish to sign onto these bills, please contact Jessica in Senator Lassa’s office at 6-3123 or Fred in Representative Pasch’s office by June 12^th at 5pm.