Statute of Limitations Reform in Child Sexual Abuse Cases
National District Attorneys Association endorses statute of limitations reform in childhood sexual abuse cases
Portland, Oregon -- The National District Attorneys Association (NDAA), meeting in Portland, Oregon this week, unanimously adopted a resolution calling on state legislators to reform statute of limitation laws that governing the ability of victims to commence criminal and civil legal actions.
Recognizing that it is often much later in life when victims equate the injuries they suffer with the sexual abuse they experienced as a child, national prosecutors are acutely aware of why most of these crimes go unreported for many years, and as a result, offenders often escape responsibility for their criminal actions.
Marci Hamilton, a professor of Law at
Hamilton, who is also a board member of NAPSAC, said “It is unfortunate that most child predators are never prosecuted because they enjoy the freedom of movement afforded to them by the existing statutes of limitation—and clearly, our nation's prosecutors understand that.”
Prosecutors James Backstrom and Susan Gaertner, both of
Gaertner, an experienced trial attorney who has prosecuted sexual assaults against children and is now the elected
Backstrom, who also spoke on behalf of the resolution, said as the elected prosecutor in a large suburban Twin Cities county, he aggressively pursues these cases.
However, he pointed out that because there is often a delay in reporting and rarely physical evidence, most prosecutions are not successful. “For this reason,” he said, “it is obvious that the criminal justice system cannot solve this enormous problem on its own. Therefore, it is imperative that we explore a multitude of ways to expose the perpetrators of these crimes and prevent further victimization.”
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home