New Court Ruling about the Statute of Limitations in Child Sexual Abuse Cases

Momentum continues to build in the courts towards greater justice for sexual abuse survivors.

 

The latest court ruling about a child sexual abuse case involves Poly Prep Country Day School, an elite private school in Brooklyn, New York. According to articles on NYTimes.com http://goo.gl/1DWGq and NYDailyNews.com http://goo.gl/TSnj9, Judge Frederic Block of the Federal District Court in Brooklyn ruled that the New York State statute of limitations on filing sexual abuse charges cannot be imposed automatically, because of the possibility that the school covered up abuse by a former football coach.



 

Todd Maisel/New York Daily News



Now there has to be a hearing to determine if the actions of the school prevented the 12 plaintiffs from filing charges within the statute of limitations, which is by age 23 for survivors of child sexual abuse in New York.

Twelve alumni of Poly Prep and its summer camp claim that they were raped and molested by Philip Foglietta, the former football coach. The coach worked at the school from 1966 until his retirement in 1991, then died in 1998. The court decision stated that the first time an allegation was made against the coach was in 1966, when a student told the headmaster that Philip Foglietta had abused him multiple times. The ruling went on to state that the school told the family that the student’s allegations were not credible and that the student would face “severe consequences” if he continued to make such accusations.

The plaintiffs claim that the school revered the coach and his legacy and depended on his reputation for fundraising, despite knowing that he had sexually abused boys entrusted to his care.

The New York Times article stated that:

The case is being closely watched, as allegations of sexual abuse and the way powerful institutions manage knowledge of those allegations has exploded within the Roman Catholic Church, in the Hasidic community in Brooklyn and in high-profile schools like Horace Mann in the Bronx and Penn State University.

The world is watching... and the courts are finally starting to get it right. The statute of limitations has shielded perpetrators of child sexual abuse and the institutions and communities that covered up for them from being held accountable for their crimes. It is about time that we get our priorities straight and put the protection of children ahead of the protection of reputations.

Should the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse prosecutions be eliminated entirely? Or should it only be waived in certain situations?  What do you think?

Watershed Moments in the Fight for Justice for Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

Last week brought three watershed moments in the fight to bring accused pedophiles and their protectors to justice. Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted on 45 out of 48 charges of child sex abuse. Monsignor Lynn was convicted on 1 out of 3 charges of covering up abuse by pedophile priests in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes charged four Hasidic Jewish men with attempting to intimidate a witness in a child sexual abuse case after the D.A. was besieged by accusations of long-term deferential treatment of Rabbinic leaders who protect those accused of child sexual abuse in their Brooklyn Orthodox Jewish community.

The Washington Post June 22, 2012:

Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky leaves court in handcuffs after being convicted in his child sex abuse trial at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa.

Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images

The New York Times June 23, 2012:
Monsignor William J. Lynn, walking into court before the verdict reading. Monsignor Lynn was the first senior official of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States to be convicted for covering up child sexual abuses by priests.
Photo by Matt Rourke/AssociatedPress

The New York Times June 22, 2012

The Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes, who has been facing public criticism about his handling of sexual abuse allegations in the Williamsburg Orthodox Jewish community, on Thursday charged four men with attempting to silence an accuser by offering her and her boyfriend a $500,000 bribe, and threatening to take away the kosher certification of her boyfriend’s business.

Photo by Robert Stolarik for The New York Times

How appropriate that this all comes during PTSD Awareness Month, since post-traumatic stress disorder is such a common disorder for child sexual abuse survivors. Today has been designated as National PTSD Awareness Day by the United States Senate. Let's take a moment today to celebrate these watershed moments that can help child sexual abuse survivors feel more hopeful that our society is beginning to take their plight more seriously and hold abusers and their protectors accountable for all the suffering they have caused. 


Loss of hope is a common consequence for sexual abuse survivors that were not protected by the people that they trusted, whether it be coaches, clergy, law enforcement, teachers or family. Hopelessness makes it harder for survivors with PTSD to follow through with seeking help.  Renewed hope that there is justice in the world may be just what PTSD sufferers need in order to feel more hopeful that they can trust someone to help them to heal.


What do you think? What are your reactions to the above court cases? Do you have a different perspective that you would like to share?  I would love to hear from you.

You might also be interested in reading my November, 2011 post: "Reflections on the Penn State Sexual Abuse Scandal and a Call to Action". http://andreabgoldberg.blogspot.com/2011_11_01_archive.html

Lessons from the Syracuse University Sexual Abuse Scandal

The latest in the sports program sexual abuse scandals is the resurfacing of a 2005 allegation against Syracuse University Associate Head Men’s Basketball Coach Bernie Fine about sexual abuse of a minor, now 39, dating back to the 1980’s and 1990’s. The Syracuse Police have now opened an investigation into the matter.

In a letter to Syracuse University Alumni dated 11/18/11, Chancellor Nancy Cantor stated:

"On hearing of the allegations [in 2005], the University immediately launched its own comprehensive investigation through its legal counsel. The nearly four-month long investigation included a number of interviews with people the individual said would support his claims. All of those identified by him denied any knowledge of wrongful conduct by the associate coach. At the end of the investigation, as we were unable to find any corroboration of the allegations, the case was closed."

The problem with this is that in matters of sexual abuse there are rarely any witnesses since it is done in secret and even when there are witnesses, they are often  afraid to come forward because of the powerful position of the abuser, and for those who are victims,  shame, self-blame and fear of not being believed .

Chancellor Cantor went on to explain:

 "The dilemma in any situation like this, of course, is that—without corroborating facts, witnesses or confessions —one must avoid an unfair rush to judgment."

While it is understandable that the administration would not want an unfair rush to judgment, it ends up being an unfair bias against the victim since it is rare for sexual molesters to confess and rare to have physical evidence to corroborate a victim's disclosure.  There are procedures that experts  use to evaluate the disclosures of accusers to determine the validity of a sexual abuse allegation.   Experts should be consulted when organizations are evaluating a sexual abuse complaint.

On November 27, Chancellor Cantor sent out another e-mail to the entire SU community:

"Tonight, in the wake of troubling new allegations that emerged in the media today, I am writing to let you know that Bernie Fine’s employment at the University has been terminated effective immediately... Frankly, the events of the past week have shaken us all… Like the media review of the case a few years earlier, no other witnesses came forward during the university investigation, and those who felt they knew Bernie best could not imagine what has unfolded." 

The troubling part of this is the implication that during the university investigation, the impressions of "those who felt they knew Bernie best" were taken into consideration.  Unfortunately, pedophiles can be expert at befriending and endearing themselves to people and appearing beyond reproach.  

We must educate the public about the dynamics of pedophiles and other sex offenders so that they will have more than impressions to guide them to help decide when to take action.  According to Darkness to Light, an organization dedicated to ending child sexual abuse, "in more than 90% of sexual abuse cases the child and the child's family know and trust the abuser."*   Given this statistic, we must not make decisions about who can be trusted with our children based solely on our impressions.

Stop it Now, as part of its efforts to prevent child sexual abuse, has tip sheets,
"Behaviors to Watch for When Adults Are With Children" http://www.stopitnow.org/behaviors_watch_adult_with_children and  "Signs That an Adult May Be At-Risk to Harm a Child" http://www.stopitnow.org/signs_adult_risk_harm_child.  One way we can all take action is to share these tip sheets with our family, friends, colleagues and clients.

 If you know of other  resources to educate the public about sex offenders, please share it with us.

* http://www.d2l.org/site/c.4dICIJOkGcISE/b.6178667/k.62D3/Step_1_Learn_the_Facts.htm