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Legislators Consider Permanent Hunt for Old Child Molesters--Except those Employed by Government
By Selected News Articles @ 10:21 PM :: 6872 Views :: Hawaii State Government, Law Enforcement, Religion

Permanent Hunt for Child Molesters--Except those Employed by Government

SA: Mark Gallagher, a Kailua attorney, and Jeff Anderson, a St. Paul, Minn., attorney, are searching for possible victims of child sexual abuse before a unique two-year window to file civil claims for decades-old misconduct closes on April 24. 

Two dozen civil lawsuits have been filed during the past two years in what state lawmakers initially intended as a one-time opportunity to help victims in cases where the statute of limitations had long expired.

But some lawmakers now want to leave the window open longer — perhaps permanently — an idea opposed by the state attorney general's office and the Catholic Church because it could potentially violate the due process rights of the accused.

Churches and other private organizations could have difficulty defending against claims involving priests and others who may have died or left the church or group. Two of the three priests in the newspaper ad, for example, are dead.

Witnesses, documents and other keys to establishing whether the abuse occurred and the organization was negligent could also be hard to produce because of the passage of time.

read ... Bills seek more time to file suit

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House Democrats vote to exempt the state from stricter laws against the sexual abuse of minors

NEWS RELEASE from House Republican Caucus, April 10, 2012

HONOLULU – A Republican proposal to make state and county entities subject to the same liability as private organizations in child sexual abuse cases and provide equal protection to public school victims of sexual abuse was defeated today by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.

The Republican Caucus attempted to amend Senate Bill 2588 SD1 HD3 a bill which would extend the statute of limitations for civil actions brought by persons subjected to sexual offenses as a minor if the abuse took place in a non-government entity. The Republican amendment would have extended the statute of limitations for child victims of sexual abuse in government entities as well.

The introducer of the amendment, Rep. Gil Riviere of Oahu's North Shore said, "I ask, is there a difference if a child is molested in a public school? Is that different from a child being molested in a private school? You all know the answer. There is no difference to the trauma brought to the child. There can be no justification for excluding the state."

A previous draft, Senate Bill 2588 SD1 HD2, explicitly included the state and counties in the extended statute of limitations. However, that version failed to pass out of the House Finance Committee and was amended to explicitly exclude the state and counties.

"True leaders would not exempt themselves from a law they are creating for others to follow," said Rep. Kymberly Pine, Minority Floor Leader. "This biased legislation demonstrates a lack of transparency and leadership by the Majority."

This measure is just one of a variety of exemptions for government entities proposed this year.

"Today, the Majority in the House voted to exempt government from environmental laws, permitting laws and other laws that it has imposed on private entities, but this instance is the most egregious," said Rep. Gene Ward, House Minority Leader. "There is no reason for a child sexual abuse case that takes place in a government entity to be treated more leniently than one that takes place in a non-government entity."

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2012: Proposal to SB2588 - extended the statute of limitations for child victims of sexual abuse

A Republican proposal to make state and county entities subject to the same liability as private organizations in child sexual abuse cases was defeated today by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.

The measure the Republican Caucus attempted to amend in a floor vote was Senate Bill 2588 SD1 HD3, a bill which would extend the statute of limitations for civil actions brought by persons subjected to sexual offenses as a minor if the abuse took place in a non-government entity. The Republican amendment would have extended the statute of limitations for child victims of sexual abuse in government entities as well.

Excerpt from Capitol TV VIDEO April 10, 2012: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIzANTDxAMc

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