IN THE NEWS-2018
To see a yearly archive of CHILD USA in the news, click a year from below
Dioceses have gone bankrupt after opening window to sex abuse lawsuits
Aaron Aupperlee | December 29, 2018
Like dominoes falling one after another, dioceses across Minnesota declared bankruptcy in the wake of the state passing a law that gave victims of sexual assault a three-year window to file civil lawsuits regardless of when the abuse occurred.
Five of the six Catholic dioceses in Minnesota, home to about 1.2 million Catholics, have turned to Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy protection to settle hundreds of claims of sexual abuse at the hands of priests.
Can victim funds help heal wounds of Pa. church sex abuse scandal?
Aaron Aupperlee | December 29, 2018
The 15-page packet of information John Delaney received in the mail weighed heavily on him.
Inside was information about a fund set up by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to compensate victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests and an application to apply.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do. It’s a hard pill to swallow,” Delaney, 48, said in a telephone interview from his Sevierville, Tenn., home.
Proposed laws in D.C. and Va. would require clergy to report sexual abuse
Michelle Boorstein | December 26, 2018
In response to recent Catholic Church clergy sex abuse scandals, lawmakers in the District and Virginia say will soon propose legislation that adds clergy to the list of people mandated by law to report child abuse or neglect.
Bible’s Influence on the Constitution
C-Span3 General Programming | December 26, 2018
American University Professor Daniel Dreisbach argued that the Bible had a significant influence on the American Constitution. After his remarks, a panel of historians debated this premise. The National Constitution Center and the Faith and Liberty Discovery Center co-hosted this event.
The panel included Professor Marci Hamilton discussed how religious entities routinely argue for Autonomy from the law, making up the Church Autonomy Doctrine which allows them to argue that religious entities aren’t liable and responsible and can’t be sued for such issues as sex abuse of children.
Will the Child Victims Act pass the State Senate?
Spectrum News Staff | December 20, 2018
As Democrats get ready to take control of the state legislature next year, advocates are hoping lawmakers will take action on the Child Victims Act. Errol Louis discussed the legislation with two of those advocates: Kathryn Robb, a survivor of child sexual abuse and a member of the nonprofit Child USA and Safe Horizon’s Michael Polenberg.
To end child abuse in sports, we need a protective ‘seat belt’
Marci Hamilton | December 20, 2018
Seat belts were a revolutionary change in transportation that have cut the risk of lethal car crashes nearly in half. We went from a society of families with children free to roam about in the car and therefore capable of being thrown out on impact, to one where children are legally required to be strapped into a safety seat until they are large enough to use an ordinary seat belt. The changes happened through a combination of legal reform and insurance industry involvement.
Sports now needs its own seat belt — for child sex abuse. With approximately 45 million children in the United States involved in sports, this should be a national priority.
Updates to the Grand Jury Report of Sexual Abuse in Pennsylvania’s Catholic Dioceses
Peter Angelos | December 18, 2018
In August, a grand jury report was released detailing allegations of sexual abuse by more than 300 hundred priests of more than 1,000 victims across Pennsylvania. The report has had wide-reaching consequences and has spurred investigations within various other dioceses across the country, including in Washington D.C. and Maryland. Since the release of the grand jury report, a multitude of events have transpired, including new investigations, civil and criminal charges, restitution efforts and more. Here, the attorneys at The Law Offices of Peter Angelos detail the latest updates to the cases of sexual abuse within dioceses across Pennsylvania.
Leave us kids alone: A look at child marriage in the US and beyond
Bette Brown | December 15, 2018
More than 12m girls around the world, some not even teenagers, are married before the age of 18.
There were at least 207,468 such marriages in the States between 2000 and 2015, or an average of almost 40 a day.
Pastor who sexually preyed on girl now helps her case against prominent Modesto church
Garth Stapley | December 14, 2018
A former youth pastor who sexually abused a girl three decades ago is cooperating now with her attorneys in a lawsuit against Modesto’s CrossPoint Church, formerly First Baptist Church.
In return for his help, Brad Tebbutt was dropped as a defendant in the lawsuit brought by Jennifer Roach, now 47 and living in Washington state.
Was your child’s coach banned for sexual misconduct? Better check
Nancy Armour, Rachel Axon & Brent Schrotenboer
December 13, 2018
Gerald Murphy served time in prison after being convicted of lewd and lascivious assault of a child. The state of Florida permanently revoked his teaching certificate for the crime.
Murphy was also a youth coach, a member of USA Taekwondo. The elite sports organization’s leadership eventually found out about his past. So did high-ranking officials at the U.S. Olympic Committee.
The Latest Report on Institution-based Sex Abuse Is Issued on the United States Olympic Committee’s Failures
Marci A. Hamilton | December 13, 2018
There have now been countless reports on the cover-up of child sex abuse in the United States starting with the Catholic Church, broken down into its dioceses, like Boston; Philadelphia, which I discussed here; and most of the rest of Pennsylvania, which I discussed here. Once the paradigm of abuse in the Church had sunk in, other institutions emerged from the gloom, like Penn State, the report for which I discussed here. There was also the grand jury report about sex abuse in a private boarding school, the Solebury School, in Pennsylvania.
Attorneys Accuse Archdiocese of Sowing Confusion About Victim Compensation Fund
Max Mitchell | December 11, 2018
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s compensation fund for victims of childhood sexual abuse has been lauded by many as a step in the right direction for survivors who face long odds when it comes to getting their day in court. But several attorneys said they are concerned about the fund’s impact on access to justice.
Private schools to report abuse under new NY law
Chad Arnold | December 10, 2018
ALBANY – New legislation signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo reforms how private schools must report child abuse allegations and requires those employed by schools to undergo training to identify victims.
Abuse Victims Still Don’t Get Justice
Leslie C. Griffin | December 10, 2018
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently decided to permanently redact the names of eleven priests from the Fortieth Grand Jury’s report on sexual misconduct by the clergy in six Pennsylvania Roman Catholic dioceses. The court ruled that the priests’ interest in their reputations was one of the “inherent rights of mankind” that the court needed to protect by taking the priests’ names out of the report. Redaction was the only path they thought they could find to protect the priests’ due process.
Clergy Victims Press States To Open Window On Abuse Suits
Daniel Siegal | December 9, 2018
George Koharchik had a reputation as his Johnstown, Pennsylvania, parish’s “favorite priest” when Shaun Dougherty met him in 1980 at the age of 10, and the time they spent together started out innocently enough.
But Dougherty said those interactions with his religion teacher and peewee basketball coach were just grooming for fondling and other sexual abuse that continued until Dougherty was 13.
Department of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta Must Go
Marci A. Hamilton | December 6, 2018
Last week, the Miami Herald published a searing investigative report by reporter Julie Brown on the fact that multi-millionaire Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused dozens of girls at his home in Palm Beach and was permitted to cut a ridiculously lenient deal with local, state, and federal prosecutors. He was allowed to plead to two counts of prostitution, leading to a measly 13-month sentence, where he was even treated to daily work release. He did have to register as a sex offender, but with dozens of girls there and across the United States (and the globe) as his victims, the deal was beyond the pale.
Expert: Pa. Supreme Court’s decision to ‘black out’ names is slap at abuse victims
Mark Abrams | December 5, 2018
A national expert on child abuse says the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision to permanently “black out” the names of 11 men appearing in the final report of the statewide investigating grand jury on clergy sex abuse was a public slap at abuse victims.
Marci Hamilton is a University of Pennsylvania law professor and founder of the Philadelphia-based Child U.S.A. organization, and says the Supreme Court missed the mark.
Trump cabinet member’s leniency toward sex offender stirs outrage
Rachel Maddow | December 3, 2018
Marci Hamilton, University of Pennsylvania law professor, talks with Rachel Maddow about the shocking discrepancy between the nature of the crimes Jeffrey Epstein is accused of committing and the light sentence he received in a deal overseen by Alex Acosta who now serves as Donald Trump’s Labor Secretary.
‘This is why children get abused’: Watch head of CHILD USA go off on Trump’s Labor Secretary Alex Acosta
Bob Brigham | December 3, 2018
Leading legal scholar and child advocate Marci Hamilton went off on Donald Trump’s Labor Secretary during a Monday evening appearance on The Rachel Maddow Show.
“Despite local police uncovering allegations of straight-up child rape and the FBI identifying dozens of victims, Alex Acosta struck a ‘no prosecution agreement’ in the Jeffrey Epstein case in Florida,” Maddow noted. “He struck a deal with Epstein that made Epstein immune from prosecution for federal crimes.”
Why would police ever destroy a rape kit belonging to a child or teenager?
Marci A. Hamilton & Seven Berkowitz | December 1, 2018
A 4-year-old tells her mother that her uncle abused her. She reports this soon after she says it happened. The girl is taken to a hospital and undergoes a forensic exam intended to recover DNA evidence — her rape kit. But charges are not filed because police struggle with what is admittedly one of the toughest crimes to investigate. The child’s untested rape kit is put on a shelf in an evidence room.
Perversion of Justice: How a future Trump Cabinet member gave a serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime
Julie K. Brown | December 2, 2018
On a muggy October morning in 2007, Miami’s top federal prosecutor,Alexander Acosta, had a breakfast appointment with a former colleague, Washington, D.C., attorney Jay Lefkowitz.
His client, Palm Beach multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein, 54, was accused of assembling a large, cultlike network of underage girls — with the help of young female recruiters — to coerce into having sex acts behind the walls of his opulent waterfront mansion as often as three times a day, the Town of PalmBeach police found.
How the trashing of rape kits failed victims and jeopardizes public safety
Ashley Fantz, Sergio Hernandez and Sonam Vashi
November 29, 2018
A CNN investigation into the destruction of rape kits in dozens of agencies across the country found that police trashed evidence in 400 cases before the statutes of limitations expired or when there was no time limit to prosecute.
The number is likely higher and was arrived at through an analysis of the departments’ own records.
5 takeaways from CNN’s investigation into rape kit destruction
Ashley Fantz , Sergio Hernandez and Sonam Vashi| November 29, 2018
In the era of #MeToo and stories about the alleged perpetrators of sexual violence, CNN’s exclusive investigation “Destroyed” turns the spotlight on those responsible for protecting the public.
An examination into the destruction of rape kits in dozens of agencies across the country found that police trashed evidence in 400 cases before the statutes of limitations expired or when there was no time limit to prosecute.
Catholic church facing declining dollars and participation as investigation widens
Tim Darragh | November 29, 2018
“I think 2019 will be a very big year,” said Marci Hamilton, CEO of Child USA, which advocates for laws that protect children. She expects Pennsylvania and other states to pass windows.
If that happens, she said, it’s likely that the majority of lawsuits would be filed by those abused not by priests, but by family members and friends, coaches and others.
Hamilton said compensation funds are positive developments for survivors who do not want to go through the court system.
Even from jail, sex abuser manipulated the system. His victims were kept in the dark
Julie K. Brown | November 28, 2018
At the end of the 68-minute hearing, the 55-year-old silver-haired financier — accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls — was fingerprinted and handcuffed, just like any other criminal sentenced in Florida.
But inmate No. W35755 would not be treated like other convicted sex offenders in the state of Florida, which has some of the strictest sex offender laws in the nation.
How a future Trump Cabinet member gave a serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime
Julie K. Brown | November 28, 2018
On a muggy October morning in 2007, Miami’s top federal prosecutor, Alexander Acosta, had a breakfast appointment with a former colleague, Washington, D.C., attorney Jay Lefkowitz.
But on the morning of the breakfast meeting, a deal was struck — an extraordinary plea agreement that would conceal the full extent of Epstein’s crimes and the number of people involved.
The #MeToo of the orange and powerful
Annieli | November 28, 2018
Marci Hamilton, a University of Pennsylvania law professor who is one of the nation’s leading advocates for reforming laws involving sex crimes against children, said what Acosta and other prosecutors did is similar to what the Catholic Church did to protect pedophile priests.
Authorities search Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston for records relating to accused Conroe priest
Nicole Hensley and Samantha Ketterer | November 28, 2018
Dozens of state and local law enforcement swarmed the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston’s downtown office Wednesday to seize records related to Father Manuel La Rosa-Lopez, the priest accused of sexually abusing at least two children who attended a Conroe church.
Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon said the surprise search was aimed at a trove of employment and disciplinary records related to La Rosa-Lopez and his time at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Conroe.
Report on Catholic clergy sexual abuse spurs wave of probes
Tom Jackman, Michelle Boorstein and Julie Zauzmer | November 23, 2018
The explosive report about sexual abuse by Catholic priests unveiled by a Pennsylvania grand jury in August has set off an unprecedented wave of investigations over the last several months, with attorneys general in 14 states and the District of Columbia announcing probes and demanding documents from Catholic officials. Those efforts have been joined by a federal investigation out of Philadelphia that may become national in scope.
The Pennsylvania report on clergy sex abuse spawned a wave of probes nationwide. Now what?
Tom Jackman, Michelle Boorstein & Julie Zauzmer | November 22, 2018
The explosive report about sexual abuse by Catholic priests unveiled by a Pennsylvania grand jury in August has set off an unprecedented wave of investigations over the last several months, with attorneys general in 14 states and the District of Columbia announcing probes and demanding documents from Catholic officials. Those efforts have been joined by a federal investigation out of Philadelphia that may become national in scope.
The new investigations are taking place in a very different climate than existed in 2002, when the Boston Globe exposed decades of abuse and coverups in that city. Many lay Catholics have lost faith in the church’s ability to right itself and are pushing for civil authorities to hold high-ranking church officials accountable. There’s also a greater willingness by law enforcement to do battle with a church that has become a far less formidable local presence. And the graphic grand jury report has spurred widespread public outrage.
Sins of the Fathers
Mary Harris | November 14, 2018
Survivors of Catholic clergy sexual abuse have gone after the church in a piecemeal fashion. But the Roman Catholic Church’s cover-up of child sexual abuse goes back decades, and experts say it reaches the upper echelons of church leadership. What would it take to go after the Vatican? We talk to someone who’s tried it: Marci Hamilton, a professor and founder of CHILD USA.
Georgia Olympic wrestling official investigated over predator coach
Meris Lutz | November 12, 2018
“SafeSport is like a black hole,” said Marci Hamilton, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania who specializes in child sex abuse prosecution. “When people are trying to figure out how to protect their children, they’re not getting answers.”
She’s concerned that governing bodies are using SafeSport’s involvement as an excuse not to take action. She said USA Wrestling is an independent organization with a legal obligation to remove anyone who represents a threat to athletes, with or without a SafeSport ruling.
Child sex abuse survivors celebrate Democratic takeover of NYS Senate
Kenneth Lovett | November 12, 2018
Child sex abuse survivors are celebrating last week’s Democratic takeover of the state Senate, saying it bodes well for quick passage of the Child Victims Act.
The measure that would make it easier for child sex abuse victims to seek justice as adults has been bottled up for years by the Republican Senate majority.
UPDATE: Pennsylvania bishops pledge to have victim compensation fund in place in 2019
John Finnerty | November 8, 2018
The move to create the compensation fund shouldn’t end the conversation about whether to open a civil window for lawsuits, said Marci Hamilton, CEO and academic director of CHILD USA, a Philadelphia-based think tank focusing on child protection.
“I do not oppose such funds so long as they are not subject to non-disclosure agreements, are not mandatory, and provide fair compensation for the damage done to the survivor,” she said. “They can be a good avenue for the survivor who is fragile or who doesn’t want to go through the rigors of the legal system.”
Having failed their duty, Catholic bishops should turn over secret archives
The Inquirer Editorial Board| November 7, 2018
In a far-reaching special report last Sunday, journalists from the Philadelphia Inquirer and Boston Globe found that the leaders of the U.S. Catholic Church are far better at covering up child sexual abuse than stopping it.
Rally outside Norwich church calls for greater transparency for sexual abuse
Kevin Aherne | November 3, 2018
A group of activists held a rally outside Norwich’s St. Patrick Cathedral Saturday, calling on the diocese for more transparency regarding sexual assault allegations involving clergy, and to compel state legislators to remove the statute of limitations on reporting sexual abuse.
Former US gymnast shares her story at Philly’s inaugural All Survivors Day
Patt Toddy | November 3, 2018
Abuse victims came together Saturday for the inaugural All Survivors Day at Independence Mall.
Organizers say they wanted to give people a safe place to share their stories and support as they fight for justice.
Hope and pain stood shoulder-to-shoulder in Old City as Sarah Klein, former gymnast for Team USA, spoke about a dubious honor.
Dems seek to capitalize on Senate’s failure to pass abuse victim relief
John Finnerty | October 27, 2018
Democrats hope the fallout from the biggest controversy of the fall legislative session will help them make a dent in the Republican supermajority in the state Senate.
“Sen. Scarnati’s refusal to let his caucus vote according to each Senator’s conscience is nothing but politics,” said Marci Hamilton, CEO of CHILD USA, a Philadelphia-based think tank specializing in child abuse policy. “It is callous toward the entire population of child sex abuse victims.”
Federal Government Tells Catholic Bishops Not to Destroy Sex Abuse Documents
Laurie Goodstein | October 26, 2018
The Department of Justice has sent a sweeping request to every Roman Catholic diocese in the United States not to destroy documents related to the handling of child sexual abuse, a sign that the federal investigation into the church could grow far more extensive.
A powerful lobby blocked changes in Pa. child sex abuse laws. Here’s who and here’s why.
Candy Woodall | October 25, 2018
Two powerful groups lined the halls of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building on Oct. 17.
One group included people who identify as victims or survivors of Catholic priest sex abuse.
The other group represented the Catholic church and its insurance companies, which could have been on the hook for millions in reparations to such victims.
Washington’s attorney general opens probe into sexual abuse by Catholic clergy
Peter Jamison and Michelle Boorstein | October 23, 2018
WASHINGTON — District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine said Tuesday that his office has launched an investigation into sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of Washington, the latest in a string of state-level law enforcement officials now looking into the Catholic Church’s handling of abuse complaints.
Altoona-Johnstown diocese confirms it received federal grand jury subpoenas
Lauren Muthler | October 23, 2018
The Altoona-Johnstown diocese, based in Hollidaysburg, confirmed Tuesday that it did receive federal grand jury subpoenas and is cooperating with the investigation.
Altoona-Johnstown is the last of the state’s eight dioceses to confirm that they’ve received grand jury subpoenas from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Feds Launch Sex Abuse Probe Of Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic Church
NPR News | October 19, 2018
The Department of Justice has launched an investigation of child sex abuse within Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic Church, sending subpoenas to dioceses across the state seeking private files and records to explore the possibility that priests and bishops violated federal law in cases that go back decades, NPR has learned.
Feds: Child Explotation Focus of Pennsylvania Church Probe
Jafet Serrato | October 19, 2018
The justice department, for the first time ever, is opening an investigation into the child sex abuse within the Catholic Church. The government is demanding bishops in evidence pointing to anyone under their supervision who took children across state lines, used phones or computers to send sexual messages or told anyone not to contact police. Marci Hamilton of CHILD USA, “It’s about time. The federal government has been silent on sex abuse in the Catholic Church ever since the story broke from Boston in 2002”. 301 predator priests in six dioceses have been named in an 800-page grand jury report released in August… that report detailed widespread sexual abuse going back decades.
Federal prosecutors open clergy abuse probe in Pennsylvania
Maryclaire Dale & Eric Tucker | October 18, 2018
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Federal prosecutors have opened an investigation of child sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests in Pennsylvania, using subpoenas to demand secret files and testimony from high-ranking leaders in what victims’ advocates say is the first such probe ever launched by the U.S. Justice Department.
Senate Republican opposition to retroactive window stalls Pa. child sex abuse reform bill
Marc Levy | October 18, 2018
Legislation to respond to Pennsylvania’s landmark grand jury report accusing hundreds of Roman Catholic priests of sexually abusing children over decades stalled on the Legislature’s final scheduled voting day of 2018 amid a showdown over a key provision.
Legal Reaction to U.S. Justice Department’s Investigation of Alleged Child Sex Abuse in Roman Catholic Churches in Pennsylvania
Peggy Lee | October 18, 2018
The U.S. Department of Justice is now investigating alleged child sexual abuse inside Roman Catholic dioceses across Pennsylvania.
The investigation follows a scathing report issued in August by a state grand jury.
The report alleged that more than 300 predator priests abused more than 1,000 children in the Commonwealth over several decades.
Former USA Gymnastics Head Arrested For Covering For Nassar
Grace Carr | October 18, 2018
USA Gymnastics’ former president Steve Penny was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Tennessee Wednesday for allegedly covering up evidence related to Larry Nassar, the former team doctor who was convicted of sexually abusing female athletes.
Why Do We Believe Some Abuse Victims Over Others?
Dan Murphy | October 18, 2018
The recent news that the Rev. Thomas Kreiser, a priest who was serving at the Church of St. Joseph’s in Bronxville, has been removed from his position for accusations of inappropriate behavior with a minor adds another chapter to a national sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church that affects Westchester.
FAITH AND THE FOUNDING: THE BIBLE AND THE CONSTITUTION
National Constitution Center | October 18, 2018
Join us for a talk by Daniel Dreisbach, author of Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers, followed by a conversation with leading scholars about the influence of religion on the Founders and our founding documents. Leading scholars participating in the conversation include Marci Hamilton, Daniel Mark, and Russell Shorto. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This event is presented in partnership with the Faith and Liberty Discovery Center.
Is the Harvey Weinstein Criminal Case in Trouble?
Rebecca Keegan | October 12, 2018
Prosecutors in the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault case hit a major stumbling block this week, when they acknowledged that the New York Police Department’s lead detective in the case had withheld important evidence that could be favorable to the disgraced producer. The revelation, which led the Manhattan District Attorney’s office to drop one of the six sex-crime charges against Weinstein, could imperil the broader indictment against him, with five other counts involving two other women.
Pope Francis accepts Cardinal Donald Wuerl’s resignation as D.C. archbishop
Jeff Glor | October 12, 2018
CBS News interviews Marci Hamilton regarding Cardinal Wuerl’s criminal liability in Pennsylvania for his involvement in protecting predator priests.
Bucks County senators pressured to support child sex abuse bill
Kyle Bagenstose | October 8, 2018
Mark Rozzi, a state representative from Berks County who was raped by a priest as a child, visited Bucks County on Monday and called on state Sens. McIlhinney and Tomlinson to support a measure that would open up a two-year window in the statute of limitations.
Handful of days remain to pass critical reform for sex abuse victims, say advocates
FOX 29 Philadelphia | October 8, 2018
Time is running out to give victims of sexual abuse a two-year window to sue their abusers for damages in Pennsylvania, say advocates.
Legislation has passed the House and is now sitting on the Senate floor.
Senate Republicans weigh alternatives to giving child sex abuse victims more time to sue abusers
Charles Thompson | October 8, 2018
This will be a big week for work on Senate Bill 261, the hotly-debated legislation carrying changes designed to give child sex-abuse victims and prosecutors a longer period to bring the abusers to court.
End-of-session showdown looms over proposed relief for child sex crime victims
John Finnerty | October 6, 2018
HARRISBURG – The state Senate appears likely to make substantial changes to legislation that passed the state House and would have provided relief to victims of old child sex crimes, like those detailed in a damning grand jury report into cover-ups by the Catholic church.
The Response to the Kavanaugh Allegations Exposes the Lessons We Failed to Learn from the Catholic Clergy’s Abuse
Marci A. Hamilton | October 4, 2018
For those of us who work on issues involving the sexual assault of children, the Judge Brett Kavanaugh sexual-assault discourse has been jarring. This is particularly so given that his first accuser, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, was 15 years old and therefore underage at the time of the allegations. And it is even more so the case because of how it contrasts with what we’ve supposedly learn from the recent revelations about the trauma of clergy sexual abuse.
What Do the Cases Involving Bill Cosby, Clergy Sex Abuse, and Brett Kavanaugh Have in Common? Powerful Men Who Think Themselves Powerful Enough to Make Credible Accusations Disappear, But They Are Wrong
Marci Hamilton | September 27, 2018
Each of these instances is at a different stage in the justice system, but they are all cut from the same cloth. Wonderful, upstanding men are being charged with sex abuse and assault, and other powerful men race to defend their honor. Then the truth brings them all down.
In the fight to help clergy sex abuse victims, one state beat the odds and got it done
Ivey DeJesus | September 27, 2018
In 2007, the Delaware Legislature was considering a piece of legislation that would open a temporary timeframe during which adults who had been sexually abused as children could file civil suits against their predators.
See Anything, Say Something?
Naomi Schaefer Riley | September 25, 2018
In Catholic parishes around the world, at elite private schools such as Phillips Exeter Academy and St. George’s School, and in institutions such as the U.S. Olympic Committee, people who knew about longstanding sexual abuse of children and teenagers ignored it or covered it up. A rash of “good people” did nothing, and evil prevailed.
One way to try to prevent this from happening in the future is to legally require that employees of any child-serving organization report their suspicions about abuse to authorities.
As Cosby Sentencing Unfolds, Pennsylvanians Demand Accountability For Sexual Abuse
Carol Kuruvilla | September 24, 2018
Sexual abusers faced a reckoning on Monday in Pennsylvania ― whether they were celebrities shielded by their fame or priests protected by religious institutions.
The same day disgraced actor Bill Cosby began his sentencing hearing in Norristown for sexual assault, people marched to the state capitol about 100 miles away in Harrisburg to support survivors of child sex abuse by Roman Catholic clergy.
Larry Nassar victims to speak at sexual abuse survivor rally in Harrisburg
Bryanna Gallagher | September 24, 2018
HARRISBURG Pa.,– Sexual abuse survivors, advocates, and a handful of state leaders will join forces Monday night at the capitol in Harrisburg, for a survivor rally.
The sexual abuse survivor rally will begin at 5:45 p.m., at the main capitol steps. Speakers will be sharing their stories of sexual abuse while officials call on the Pennsylvania Legislature to act in defense of the survivors of child sex abuse.
Highlighting two women who will be speaking at the rally– Rachael Denhollander and Jamie Dantzscher.
Anti-abuse Activists Pan US Catholic Bishops’ New Proposals
David Crary | September 20, 2018
Lawyers and advocates for victims of clergy sex-abuse are assailing as inadequate some new steps announced by U.S. Catholic bishops to curtail the abuse scandals that have deeply shaken the church this year.
Marci Hamilton, a University of Pennsylvania professor who has studied sex abuse statute of limitations, depicted the bishop’s statement as “little more than words … while they lobby against justice for the victims.”
Here’s what the bishops can teach the senators about handling sexual assault claims | Opinion
Marci A. Hamilton | September 20, 2018
Members of the U.S. Senate are making predictable mistakes responding to the claims of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh attempted to rape her when she was 15 years-old and he was 17 and drunk.
Anti-abuse activists pan US Catholic bishops’ new proposals
David Crary | September 20, 2018
Lawyers and advocates for victims of clergy sex-abuse are assailing as inadequate some new steps announced by U.S. Catholic bishops to curtail the abuse scandals that have deeply shaken the church this year.
Inside Story with Marty Griffin Hour 3
Marty Griffin and Wendy Bell | September 19, 2018
Marty brings in two special guests to discuss the Statue of Limitations Legislation. Mike Turzai, republican member of the PA House of Representatives joins, then shortly after Marci Hamilton, CEO and Academic Director of Child USA.
Will Clergy Sex Abuse Allegations Spur Change in Statute-of-Limitation Laws?
Candice Norwood | September 18, 2018
This summer, a Pennsylvania grand jury released an explosive report, accusing more than 300 Catholic priests in the state of sexually abusing 1,000 children over seven decades. Despite the number of accused, only two priests reportedly can face criminal prosecution.
Advocates: Family courts should put needs of child above parents
Jo Ciavaglia | September 18, 2018
To advocates like Danielle Pollack, the Pennsylvania family court system often protects the rights of parents more than the children caught in the middle of acrimonious custody battles.
As an ambassador for CHILD USA, a Philadelphia-based child abuse prevention think tank, Pollack has heard hysterical children pleading not to be taken to a court-ordered visit with a parent who allegedly abused them. She has listened to desperate parents who believe family court judges do not take their claims of physical, mental or sexual abuse — or the potential for such abuse — against their children seriously.
For survivors of priest child sex abuse, what would real justice look like?
Harry Bruinius | September 14, 2018
There are crimes for which justice can seem like a remote concept.
There are crimes, like the sexual abuse of children, from which many turn away – using language like “unspeakable,” “unimaginable,” or even “inhuman.” Even survivors create their mental shields from the crimes they endured.
“This form of abuse is really completely and utterly spiritually annihilating,” says Christa Brown, a survivor of abuse at the hands of a Baptist minister decades ago, and an author who now lives in Colorado. “It’s been called ‘soul murder,’ and I think that’s a very apt word for it.”
Survivors of child sex abuse again push Pennsylvania to suspend statute of limitations
Sara Hoover | September 13, 2018
Pennsylvania’s recent grand jury report on the sexual abuse of children in Catholic dioceses throughout state has renewed calls to change statute of limitation laws.
Advocates and those sexually abused as children held a press conference Tuesday in Southeastern Pennsylvania urging lawmakers to provide a two-year window for past victims to file civil charges retroactively.
The United States Olympic Committee and the USA Gymnastics NGB Need to Be Dissolved and Reconstituted
Marci A. Hamilton | September 13, 2018
If you have not been living under a rock, you are aware that an explosive grand jury report on six dioceses in Pennsylvania drove home the point that the bishops have not cleaned up the clergy sex abuse mess. Far from it, the powerful covering up the abuse are getting promoted and the perpetrators are still either in ministry or untethered.
Gymnasts who suffered sexual abuse lend their voices to push for PA law
Tribune Review | September 11, 2018
SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests Tuesday joined representatives of Child USA and a pair of former gymnasts who survived of abuse at the hands of former Michigan State Dr. Larry Nassar to demand that state lawmakers make changes to the law recommended by the statewide grand jury that concluded that more than 300 priests abused 1,000 children across the state.
Groups Pressing Lawmakers To Revise Statute Of Limitations For Sex Abuse Cases
CBS Philly | September 11, 2018
In what ended in sobering defeat two years ago, due, in part, to a powerful lobby by the Catholic church, on Tuesday — renewed calls were made to open a two-year window in Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations for sex abuse survivors.
Victims of serial rapist Larry Nassar stand in solidarity with victims of clergy sex abuse in Pa.
Ivey DeJesus | September 11, 2018
The effort in Pennsylvania to reform the statute of limitations on Tuesday upped its salvo power with two powerful faces: that of two victims of serial sex abuser Larry Nassar, the former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor convicted of child sex crimes.
Pennsylvania grand jury report reopens old wounds for sex abuse victims with no paths to justice
Megan Cerullo | September 10, 2018
Recent reports about clergy members accused of committing heinous acts against children have ripped open old wounds for survivors, whose predators within and outside the church won’t be prosecuted, and who might never see justice because statutes of limitations have expired.
NY clergy sex abuse may be sweeping but legal cases few
Jennifer Peltz and David Keppler | September 7, 2018
The New York attorney general’s new investigation into clergy sex abuse allegations in the Roman Catholic Church could be massive.
But few criminal cases or lawsuits may come out of the inquiry, whatever its findings. New York has some of the nation’s strictest time limits on taking child sex abuse claims to civil or criminal courts. A yearslong campaign to extend the timeframe has stalled in the Legislature.
Commentary: Heed pope’s call to action by passing the Child Victims Act
Brad Hoylman and Marci Hamilton | September 6, 2018
In the aftermath of the landmark grand jury report detailing decades of child sex abuse from hundreds of priests across Pennsylvania, Pope Francis issued a call to action to end child sexual abuse in the Catholic church. In New York, that kind of accountability is only possible if the state Legislature passes the Child Victims Act, legislation that will finally help uncover the extent of child sexual abuse here and give survivors their day in court.
As bishop looked on, abusive ‘Father Ned’ got new assignment
Michael Rubinkam | September 5, 2018
Under questioning from a plaintiff’s lawyer, Bambera acknowledged the diocese ignored its own policy by failing to report “Father Ned” — a pseudonym used in court — to civil authorities. He testified that Father Ned was removed from ministry only temporarily before getting another parish assignment. Once there, Bambera told the jury, Father Ned was caught “grooming” a boy for sexual assault.
Pennsylvania Bishops Face Reckoning In the Wake of Grand Jury Sex Abuse Report
Joshua Gill | September 5, 2018
Roman Catholic bishops of the diocese in Scranton, Pennsylvania, are facing consequences for mishandling sexual abuse allegations in the wake of the state’s grand jury report.
Q&A with Marci Hamilton
Lauren Hertzler | September 5, 2018
Hamilton, also a leading church/state scholar who’s been studying the Roman Catholic clergy abuse crisis for two decades, spoke with Penn Today about the tragic, most recent grand jury report in Pennsylvania, the importance of changing the statute of limitations, why clergy members should be mandated reporters, and much, much more.
Bishops back victim fund over abuse lawsuits in Pennsylvania
The Associated Press | August 31, 2018
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Roman Catholic officials in Pennsylvania began lining up quickly and publicly with a key state legislative ally in backing the creation of a victims’ compensation fund as an alternative to allowing victims in decades-old child sexual abuse cases to sue the church in court.
Let There Be Light, in Church
Marci Hamilton | August 29, 2018
The Roman Catholic clergy sex abuse crisis blankets the globe in darkness. We are at a tipping point — or at least we ought to be.
The unmasking and resignation of the former archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, placed alongside the recent release of an exhaustive grand jury report in Pennsylvania that describes in withering detail more than 1,000 grotesque abuses, has reinforced the growing public sentiment in favor of eliminating the statutes of limitations for child sex abuse. Under current law, a vast majority of victims will receive no justice because of an arbitrary procedural deadline.
Catholic board seeks parishioner-led abuse investigation
Lisa Marie Pane | August 28, 2018
The National Review Board called for an investigation led by parishioners, saying a new wave of abuse scandals point to a “systematic problem” and that the bishops themselves can’t be trusted to lead an investigation.
Some survivors of clergy sex abuse said the call was a disingenuous attempt by the church to get around a true independent investigation.
Sen. Little on board with Child Victims Act in N.Y.
Ken Tingley | August 26, 2018
In May 2016, Sen. Little was one of 30 Republican senators who voted against the Child Victims Act. When I asked her that fall why, she said she opposed the “look back” provision that allowed a one-year window for past victims to file lawsuits. She said she believed it would be detrimental to organizations like the Boys Scouts and the Catholic Church and open them up to frivolous litigation.
Smerconish: Sex Abuse Scandal in the Catholic Church
Smerconish CNN | August 25, 2018
CHILD USA CEO Marci Hamilton discusses the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church in the wake of the explosive Pennsylvania grand jury report with CNN’s Michael Smerconish.
Under Cover of Goodness: How Pillars of the Community Can Prey on Kids
Eliott C. McLaughlin | August 24, 2018
Doctors, coaches, clergy. Society knows these as noble professions, filled with good people. Doctors heal. Coaches encourage athletic excellence. Priests usher people closer to God
Then there are Dr. Larry Nassar, Coach Jerry Sandusky and Father John Geoghan.
The Catholic church covered up abuse. Can RICO laws treat it like organized crime?
USA Today Network | August 22, 2018
In 1970, Congress gifted prosecutors with the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, intended to give crime fighters a powerful weapon to take down organized crime.
It became known as RICO, and at first, prosecutors were unsure what to make of it.
More Than 400 Have Called Pennsylvania’s Hotline Since Clergy Sex Abuse Report
Bobby Allyn | August 21, 2018
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro was wrapping up his livestreamed address in Harrisburg last week, on the release of a bombshell grand jury report cataloging how the Catholic Church covered up the abuse of more than 1,000 minors by some 300 priests over 70 years, when he made an appeal: We want more survivors to report.
Pennsylvania does too little to help child sexual abuse victims
John Baer | August 21, 2018
There’s an ugly irony in last week’s release of a statewide grand jury report on decades of sexual abuse of children, and its cover-up, by Catholic clergy.
Turns out the state with the fullest examination of the globally troubling problem is also the state offering some of the nation’s weakest recourse for those who’ve been abused.
And you can guess why: Pennsylvania’s Legislature.
Child Victims Act supporters call on state Senate GOP to pass measure in light of Pope’s condemnation of sex abuse by priests
Kenneth Lovett | August 21, 2018
ALBANY — In the wake of Pope Francis’ letter denouncing child sex abuse and decades of church coverups, victims and several New York State legislators have reignited their calls for the state Senate GOP to pass a bill making it easier for survivors to seek justice as adults.
Grand jury report reignites furor over law change to help victims
John Finnerty | August 18, 2018
HARRISBURG — A scathing grand jury report documenting child sex abuse by more than 300 Roman Catholic priests impacting more than 1,000 children has reignited calls for changing Pennsylvania law to give victims more time to seek justice.
We Can Take On the Catholic Church for Covering Up Child Sex Abuse. Here’s How
Marci Hamilton | August 16, 2018
The Pennsylvania grand jury report on clergy sex abuse in six dioceses is a call to action, in part because so few indictments flowed from its documentation of over 1,000 victims and 300 perpetrator priests. It details enormous injustice and institutional malfeasance, but we are left with only two indictments of perpetrators.
At issue is whether lawmakers should temporarily allow people older than 30 to file civil lawsuits over sexual abuse that occurred when they were younger than 18.
After decades of quiet suffering, Delaware priest abuse victim tells her story
Xerxes Wilson | August 16, 2018
Mary was a young teen. Father John Sarro was a Catholic priest making “creepy” comments about marrying her. Then there were the handwritten letters he sent her throughout her teenage years.
But it was more than words.
Clergy Sex Abuse in Pennsylvania: No Justice Is Intolerable
Marci Hamilton | August 16, 2018
Attorney General Josh Shapiro issued an extraordinary grand jury report detailing sexual abuse going back 70 years in six Roman Catholic dioceses in the state of Pennsylvania. The report itself is nearly 900 pages while the responses appended add another 450 pages. Here it is. Pennsylvania now has the distinction of having every Catholic diocese subjected to a grand jury investigative report: Philadelphia, then Johnstown/Altoona, and now the rest of them. This monumental achievement fills in more details of arrogant and thoughtless bishops, craven pedophile priests, and a system that rewards the secrecy that endangers children
Why the Explosive Report on Catholic Church Abuse Is Unlikely to Yield Criminal Charges
Dan Levin | August 15, 2018
The searing grand jury report issued Tuesday in Pennsylvania that accuses bishops and other Catholic Church leaders in that state of covering up child sexual abuse by more than 300 priests has prompted growing calls for justice…
But a web of legal barriers stands in the way of prosecuting most of the cases, and efforts to ease those barriers have repeatedly run into political opposition and fierce lobbying by the church and other groups. Pennsylvania lags behind many other states in coming to grips with the problem, despite a series of grand jury investigations stretching back 15 years.
Pennsylvania grand jury purposely used graphic details in priest sex abuse report
Yates & Esack | August 15, 2018
Marci Hamilton, the founder of Child USA, an organization that seeks to prevent child abuse, served as a consultant on the 2005 grand jury report that scrutinized the Philadelphia Archdiocese. For that report, she said there was a conscious decision to use stark language in describing the abuse that was uncovered, to counter those who were seeking to dismiss the findings.
“This is putting into black and white exactly what happened,” Hamilton said. “It is empowering the victims to say these are crimes and what happened to you is horrible.”
CHILD USA reacts to grand jury report on church sexual abuse
69 News | August 14, 2018
“Attorney General Josh Shapiro has released a monumental report on the clergy sex abuse that has destroyed Pennsylvania children’s lives for decades,” said CEO and Academic Director of CHILD USA Professor Marci Hamilton.
Reject arguments of clergy, advocates argue in amicus brief filed in high court ahead of grand jury report
Ivey DeJesus | August 8, 2018
“‘Parents deserve to know who is endangering their children and how. Pennsylvanians only know about the child sex abuse in the Philadelphia and Johnstown/Altoona dioceses, at Penn State, and at the Solebury School, because prosecutors took the lead and issued grand jury reports detailing the dangers that children had suffered,” said Marci Hamilton, CEO and a director of CHILD USA.
Hovland: Iowa’s laws on child sexual abuse, endangerment need to change
Barbara Hovland | August 10, 2018
A bright light needs to be shed on child sexual abuse/endangerment laws in Iowa, mainly plea deals and how they are handed out so freely.
Backing civil statute of limitations reform would be the best way bishops could help child sexual abuse victims
B. Shahan | August 10, 2018
Bishop Ronald W. Gainer of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg held a press conference Wednesday to apologize for the sexual abuse of children by priests and others in the church over decades. The Harrisburg diocese also released a list of 71 clergy members and seminarians alleged to have sexually abused children since 1947. LNP reported Friday that the list included the late Monsignor Francis Joseph Taylor, who served as Lancaster Catholic High School’s principal from 1958 to 1975, and the late Rev. Thomas Ronald Haney, who was the assistant to the principal at LCHS from 1961 to 1964 and directed the school’s athletic program. According to LNP records, Haney previously had served three years as assistant pastor at St. Anne Catholic Church in Lancaster; later in his life, he was known to many local Catholics as the executive editor of The Catholic Witness, the diocesan newspaper, and as a spokesman for the diocese.
Clergy abuse case reflects simmering scrutiny of Pa. Grand Jury System
Angela Couloumbis | August 5, 2018
Mr. Greenleaf…chairs the Judiciary Committee. That panel in the last session gutted a bill that would have enabled a flood of new lawsuits by past victims against their abusers or the institutions that supervised them.
Marci Hamilton, a prominent advocate for abuse victims said “she fears Mr. Greenleaf’s bill, combined with prior attempts to kill statute of limitations reform, is evidence that legislators have been ‘carrying the water for the bishops.”
Are your kids in good hands? How to spot sexual abuse, prevent predators
Isabel Keane | August 3, 2018
The sexual abuse charges faced by 67-year-old Rockland County gymnastics coach Joseph Lewin involving the underage girls he coached has many parents and guardians asking themselves: how can this be prevented?
They say it takes a village to raise a child. Parents give their trust to an array of adults who come in contact with their children on a daily basis, from coaches to adult volunteers, tutors, staff members and even teammates.
So how do parents know their kids are safe?
SafeSport, the USOC’s Attempt to Stop Child Abuse, is Set Up to Fail – Just like it Was Supposed to
Diana Moskovitz | July 24, 2018
Even if it was perfectly engineered, SafeSport would have difficulty achieving its aims, and it is far from perfectly engineered. Records, interviews, and an examination of the relevant history show that while basic groundwork has yet to be laid to protect athletes from abuse, SafeSport has already been deployed to make any parents’ concerns just go away.
When a Parent’s Beliefs About Medicine Become Child Abuse
Shawn Radcliffe | July 19, 2018
An Oregon couple who believed in faith healing were sentenced to six years in prison earlier this month for criminal charges related to the death of their newborn daughter, Ginnifer, last year.
State law determines whether denying a child medical care because of religious reasons is legally considered neglect, sometimes known as medical neglect.
Children’s Rights Softly Emerge in the Midst of the Trump Administration’s Heartless Separation of Children from their Parents at the Border
Marci A. Hamilton | July 19, 2018
“The litigation over the heartless separation of children from their parents at the border has been focused on the rights of the adults, the parents. That is par for the course in our society. Adults prefer and protect adults on a routine basis, and children tend to receive second-order status even on a good day. That is not to say that children don’t have emerging rights.”
Religion, The Supreme Court And Why It Matters
Sarah McCammon | July 7, 2018
While there is a liberal, social-justice strain in Catholicism, there is a sharp divide between them and more conservative Catholics. And their dominance on the court has to do with ideology, said Marci Hamilton, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who once clerked for former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
Questioning Justice Kennedy’s Replacement: Pay Attention to Not Just Roe v. Wade but Also the Right to Privacy and Contraception
Marci A. Hamilton | July 5, 2018
“The media and the public are hyper-focused on the impact of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement on whether Roe v. Wade will be overruled. Many correctly assume the decision is at risk. That seems to me obvious, though the jury is out on whether the newly configured Court would overrule Roe or adopt an interpretation that makes it toothless, thereby letting the states cut the right to abortion down to a nub. A weak right is not terribly different in practice from a nonexistent right. But Roe is a distraction from the larger agenda underlying this fight.”
Justice Kennedy’s Replacement and the Religious Test Awaiting
Marci A. Hamilton | June 28, 2018
Tellingly, the Supreme Court issued its decision upholding President Donald Trump’s travel ban, Trump v. Hawaii, on the same day that it gave crisis pregnancy centers the right to exclude information about abortion to pregnant women in NIFLA v. California. I don’t think the Court was conscious of the irony of pairing these two announcements, but ironic it was.
The Children Mistreated at the Border Are a Wake-up Call: It’s Time for the United States to Ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Marci A. Hamilton | June 21, 2018
The images were disturbing—children crying, suffering, sitting in what amount to cages. The Trump administration was in its “zero tolerance” zone and stripping children from their immigrant parents as they crossed the border. Looking back, there seemed to be an assumption that no one would notice or care that Latin American children were being treated to subhuman treatment by United States authorities.
Dark Secret – Out now on Amazon Prime
Marci A. Hamilton | June 2018
In the recent hour-long film, Founder and CEO of CHILD USA, Marci Hamilton, gives insight into one of the biggest clergy sex abuse scandals of all time.
Children are not the property of this administration to recklessly traumatize: Stop ripping them away from their parents at the border
Marci A. Hamilton | June 12, 2018
The Trump Administration has been engaging in the practice of separating children from their parents at the border. Texas courts are filling up with immigrant parents who have had their children ripped from their arms. Neither the children nor the parents are told where the other is or when they will be reunited if ever. The Administration favors this approach as a “tough deterrent” to illegal immigration. That is the view in an adult-centric universe, which discounts children’s suffering and treats children as nothing other than a means to the ends of adults.
When is an LGBTQ rights case not about LGBTQ rights? When its the Masterpiece Cakeshop decision
Marci A. Hamilton | June 7, 2018
The United States Supreme Court predictably handed down the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission decision in June, toward the end of the Term. The case—which on its surface posed the question whether a bakery could turn away a gay couple seeking a wedding cake—didn’t decide that issue. Instead, the Court, in an opinion written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, pivoted to familiar ground for the Court: robustly protecting the right to believe anything at all combined with a warning that conduct can be regulated.
Bishop’s prosecutions may point to new phase in church’s sex abuse crisis
Joshua J. McElwee | June 6, 2018
Pope Francis has been dealing over recent months with what has seemed like an unending saga of the Catholic clergy sexual abuse crisis in Chile.
After being criticized for saying abuse victims had committed “calumny” during his January visit to the country, the pope has since admitted making “serious mistakes,” met with Chilean victims in Rome, and received offers of resignation from most of the country’s bishops after a three-day group encounter at the Vatican.
Alternate GOP Child Victims Act bill clears committee
Kenneth Lovett | June 5, 2018
An alternative bill pushed by the Senate Republicans to make it easier for child sex abuse victims to seek justice as adults cleared a key committee on Tuesday.
It’s the first time a Senate committee has taken up the issue, though that was hardly comfort to many advocates who oppose it.
Coach Rick Butler, already booted from USA Volleyball and AAU following sex abuse allegations, now banned from youth tournament at Disney
Christian Red | June 1, 2018
Attorney and sex abuse victims advocate Marci Hamilton made certain that Rick Butler would not step foot on the Walt Disney/ESPN Wide World of Sports properties in Orlando, Florida when a girls’ youth volleyball tournament gets underway later this month.
Expert weighs in on House changes to Nassar inspired bills
Alexandra Ilitch | May 31, 2018
Marci Hamilton, the founder and CEO of the national nonprofit CHILD USA has been researching this topic for more than two decades.
“Apparently there are huge problems about sex abuse in sports in the state of Michigan or the coaches wouldn’t be so fearful,” she said.
“Many states have many more categories and include coaches for example, unlike Michigan,“ Hamilton said.
Justice for victims in Michigan is small, she said. So is the number of mandated reporters.
Walt Disney Resort bans controversial volleyball coach Rick Butler
Jon Seidel and Michael O’Brien | May 30, 2018
Walt Disney World Resorts, which hosts the Amateur Athletic Union’s national volleyball tournament, said on Wednesday that west suburban coach Rick Butler is “no longer welcome” on its property.
#MeToo, earlier scandals mean pending clergy sex abuse report can’t be ‘a small problem’
Ivey DeJesus | May 29, 2018
The landscape has changed drastically across the country and world since recent clergy sex abuse scandals out of Boston and Philadelphia. The pending grand jury report into allegations across six dioceses in Pennsylvania come amid a changing landscape.
Big Business Battles #MeToo Movement
Marci A. Hamilton | May 24, 2018
I suppose lawmakers’ deference to big business is in the air. The United States Supreme Court, in a 5-4 opinion by Judge Neil Gorsuch in Epic Systems v. Lewis, swept away hope this week that employees would be able to form class actions or join forces against oppressive employer practices. Instead, arbitration clauses in agreements pit the lone employee against the employer. In the same vein,the House of Representatives today sent to President Trump a bill to relax restrictions on banks.
In Aftermath of Larry Nassar Case, Blue Ribbon Commission of National experts launched to examine failures of institutions to protect youth athletes
Child USA | April 25, 2018
“Game Over: Commission to Protect Youth Athletes,” Funded in Large Part by $300,000 Investment from the Foundation for Global Sports Development, to be led by University of Pennsylvania-Based CHILD USA.
Commission Comprised of National Experts in Child Sex Abuse, Law Enforcement, Academia, Trauma, Sports and Investigative Journalism.
First-of-Its-Kind study on Child Abuse and Neglect within Elite Athletics announced by CHILD USA
Press Release | March 23, 2018
In Partnership with The Foundation for Global Sports Development, CHILD USA will examine the prevalence of child abuse and neglect in elite athletic organizations to determine how to best prevent it.
N.Y. Catholic Archbishop Opposes Bill Making It Easier for Abuse Victims to Sue
Trudy Ring | March 21, 2018
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the famously anti-LGBT Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, is arguing against pending state legislation that would offer a window for survivors of sexual abuse to sue over crimes that happened decades ago.
Dolan made an unannounced visit to the state capitol in Albany to urge lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo not to support a “lookback” provision in the Child Victims Act, which would give survivors a one-year period to bring suits over decades-old incidents of abuse.
Cuomo Blasts Dolan’s Claim of ‘Toxic’ Clause in Child Victim’s Act
Kenneth Lovett | March 21, 2018
ALBANY— Gov. Cuomo stood up for survivors of childhood sexual assault on Wednesday, and pushed back against Timothy Cardinal Dolan’s statement that a lookback provision for them to revive old legal claims would be “toxic.”
“These victims have been denied their day in court for far too long and we stand with them,” Cuomo told the Daily News in a statement. “The arguments against a lookback do not stand up against the experience of every other state and this debate only wastes time and delays justice.”
Larry Nassar is a Familiar Monster
Frank Bruni | January 27, 2018
Oh, I can very much believe, because its outline and ingredients are completely familiar. Here we have an adult whose professional energies were largely devoted to children — and who was thus considered to have a special concern for, insight into and way with them. We have a figure of authority and expertise who seemed to be, and sometimes was, actually helping kids, so that their inclination — along with the reflexes of their parents and of their abuser’s colleagues — was to defer to him, trust him and give him the benefit of the doubt.
‘It’s Your Turn to Listen to Me.’ Read Aly Raisman’s Testimony at Larry Nassar’s Sentencing.
Mahita Gajanan | January 19, 2018
Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman confronted Larry Nassar, the disgraced former USA Gymnastics doctor who she says sexually abused her for years, with a blistering statement in court on Friday.
Washington State Senate Votes to Ban Conversion Therapy
John Riley | January 19, 2018
The Washington State Senate voted 32-16 to ban license therapists from subjecting LGBTQ-identifying youth to conversion therapy designed to change their sexual orientation and gender identity.
Six Republicans crossed over to vote with the chamber’s Democratic majority to approve the ban. The Democrats, who won the majority on Nov. 7, 2017, have long wanted to pass a bill banning conversion therapy, but were hamstrung by Republican leadership, who had refused to allow a vote on the measure in past sessions.
Washington Lawmakers Clash Over Statute of Limitations for Sex Crimes
Taylor McAvoy | January 17, 2018
House Bill 1155 would eliminate the statute of limitations for the most serious rape and sexual assault offenses. According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, eight states did not have any statute of limitations for prosecuting felony sexual assault as of 2013.
New Yorkers Overwhelmingly Support Child Victims Act, Poll Shows
Kenneth Lovett | January 16, 2018
ALBANY — New Yorkers across the board overwhelmingly support the Child Victims Act.
According to the poll, 76% of New Yorkers support passage of the Child Victims Act while just 17% oppose it.
McKayla Maroney prepared to go to trial against USA Gymnastics; hopes to effect change in sport marred by sex abuse scandal
Christian Red | January 6, 2018
American gymnastics star McKayla Maroney was completely broken. After suffering what Maroney claims was years-long sexual abuse at the hands of former USA Gymnastics (USAG) team physician Dr. Larry Nassar – “It started when I was 13 years old,” Maroney posted on her Facebook page last October – the 2012 London Olympics gold medal-winning gymnast signed a confidential settlement in December 2016 with USAG, the sport’s national governing body. In light of her worsening condition, and desperate need for psychological intervention, the Plaintiff McKayla Maroney entered into this agreement to obtain funds necessary to pay for lifesaving psychological treatment and care, reads part of the explosive civil lawsuit Maroney filed against USAG, Nassar, Michigan State University, the U.S. Olympic Committee and 500 other individual anonymous defendants last month in Los Angeles County Superior Court.”