Crime Committee Report e.indd - New York State Senate

crime, any recommendations by the judge and any statements by victims. By separating these
provisions, it will clarify that the sentence and commitment documents are sent to the facility
with the inmate, and that the sentence minutes must be sent later, helping to ensure that these
critically important documents will become part of an inmate’s correctional file.
S.5893 HASSELL-THOMPSON, THOMPSON
Child Victims Act
Section one of the bill amends the Criminal Procedure Law to increase the criminal statute
of limitation for the prosecution of certain sex offenses committed against a child under the
age of eighteen, for incest against a child less then eighteen years of age or the use of a child in
a sexual performance. The period of limitation would not begin to run until the child reaches
the age of 23 years or the offense is reported to a law enforcement agency or the statewide central
register of child abuse and maltreatment.
Section two of the bill would extend the civil statute of limitation for causes of action to
remedy injuries or conditions suffered as a result of conduct which would constitute a sexual
offense as defined in article one hundred thirty of the penal law committed against a child less
than eighteen years of age, incest as defined in section 255.25, 255.26 or 255.27 of the penal
law committed against a child less than eighteen years of age, or the use of a child in a sexual
performance as defined in section 263.05 of the penal law. Such action would have to be commenced
within five years after the child reaches the age of 23 years. Under current law, the
criminal statute of limitations in child sexual abuse cases in which a victim does not report the
crime to law enforcement is not applied until the victim reaches age 18. This bill would add
five years to the statute; so that the five year statute of limitations in such cases would not begin
to run until the victim turned age 23 (extending the time for prosecution until a child victim
reached age 28).
Section three of the bill would revive expired civil causes of action based on conduct which
would constitute a sexual offense as defined in article one hundred thirty of the penal law committed
against a child less than eighteen years of age, incest as defined in section 255.25, 255.26
or 255.27 of the penal law committed against a child less than eighteen years of age, or the use
of a child in a sexual performance as defined in section 263.05 of the penal law. Persons for
whom the right to bring a civil action has been foreclosed because of the current civil statute
of limitations bar would be given a one-year “window period” from the date of enactment of
the bill. To recover damages for any past instance of child sexual abuse the civil claim must be
commenced within thirty-five years of the effective date of this section or commenced within
thirty-five years of such child reaching the age of eighteen years. Prior to the commencement
of the action, the plaintiff must obtain a certificate of merit by a mental health expert that
states in reasonable detail the facts and opinions relied upon for concluding that the plaintiff
was a victim of sexual abuse. The complaint shall be accompanied by a certificate of merit as
described in subdivision (c) of this section.
Sexual assault is a crime that is devastating and life altering. The emotional confusion and aftermath
experienced by a victim of a sexual assault can manifest a number of obstacles delaying
or possibly eliminating the process of healing. When the victims of sexual assault are children
the process of healing becomes their childhood. When a crime of this magnitude is committed
against a child, someone who cannot defend or fight for themselves we must fight for them. If
we allow the perpetrators of child sexual abuse to continue to prey on the children of New York
State, we are not only failing the children, but condoning the actions of these pedophiles. Due
to the high number of unreported cases and the effect on the victim’s quality of life, it has become
very apparent that the current laws of New York State pertaining to child sexual abuse are
glaringly inadequate and unable to address the many legal and ethical issues that exist.
The typical child sexual offender molests an average of 117 children, most of whom do not
report the offense. Failure to report occurs often for a variety of different reasons. For example