New Yorkers in Buffalo who support the Child Victims Act have been vehemently pushing for lawmakers to finally get it passed in time for the next session. But Republican State Senator Catherine Young claims her alternative bill would aid victims of child sex abuse more so than the original bill because it would eliminate statutes of limitations altogether and create a state restitution fund for victims. Manhattan district attorney’s office would compensate $300 million from their own asset forfeiture.
“Often times, victims of child sexual abuse do not even really process it or start to deal with it until their into their 40s. Maybe they’ve blocked it out mentally. Maybe they just can’t deal with it,” Young stated.
Senator Young has calculated that only 20 percent of child sex abuse cases would find the original Child Victims Act bill helpful let alone could potentially cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
“The vast majority of child sex abuse cases happen outside of an institution,” Young said. “They happen in the home, where unfortunately it’s a family matter. It may be a babysitter. It may be a neighbor. The overwhelming majority of those victims, who are abuse by someone who doesn’t have deep pockets, will not get any compensation. One of the institutions that could be sued would be public schools,” she said. “If that happens, then there would be a heavy cost to the taxpayers.”
After the unveiling sexual abuse scandal in the Diocese of Buffalo, Father Robert Yetter, pastor of St. Mary’s Swormville has resigned after more complaints have been filed against him. John Flynn, District Attorney of Erie County, responded to the new developments restating his request for lawmakers to pass the Child Victims Act, but doing so would put older cases on pause.
“I’m not going to be able to go back to the 80s and 90s, no matter what,” Flynn said. “It’s more of going forward. Five years from now, ten years from now, if a family comes forward I’m not going to be able to say to them… I don’t want to be able to say to them I can’t do anything because the legislators didn’t pass the Child Victims Act. I’m never going to be able to go back to the 80s, unfortunately.”
If you have been sexually abused please call our sexual abuse attorneys at Alonso Krangle LLP at 800-403-6191 or through our website at www.fightforvictims.com. Our attorneys are sensitive to your story and will assist you in recourse and the compensation and justice you deserve. We will fight together against your abuser or any institution that has failed to protect you. Please call us today to review your legal rights.