GA- Bill will extend SOL for child sex abuse, victims respond

February 28, 2014

For immediate release: Friday, February 28, 2014

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, [email protected])

A proposed bill in George would extend the statute of limitation for child sex crimes 7 years. This is a step in the right direction, but stronger action is needed.

http://www.wsav.com/story/24847696/new-bill

House Bill 771, which was passed by a House Judiciary Committee, would give victims of child sexual assault and additional 7 years to file lawsuits. As the law stands now victims only have 5 years after they turn 18. Under the new law victims will have until they are 30 years old.

We are glad this small step in the right direction was taken and that lawmakers are acknowledging that many victims of child sexual abuse take years to report their abuse, due to the extreme trauma. We are sure that this law will help many younger people who were abused as kids, but it does nothing for older people.

Statute of limitations in child sex crimes only protect dangerous predators who more often than not will hurt more than one child. To help prevent future crimes removing the statute of limitations is necessary or at least offering a window.

We hope this bill will pass the full house and open the door for even better protection for children and justice for victims in the future.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 25 years and have more than 15,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688 home, 314-503-0003 cell, [email protected])

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Showing 2 comments

Lani Halter commented 2014-03-02 15:07:06 -0600
At first, I was going to commend this action of extending the SOL, but as of today, I’ve decided that I believe there shouldn’t be ANY statute of limitations on the crimes pedophile catholic priests and laity, and employees commit against children and disabled adults. Full stop! Period! I truly believe that the directors of SNAP and the survivors, and the CCR and all those fighting for justice for survivors and fighting to put an end to this horrible scourge of pedophiles sexually assaulting and raping, photographing their victims and in essence sex-slaving innocents all around the world, should seek to have all statutes of limitations removed and ended. Because of the nature of all pedophelia, I personally do not believe that there should be any statute of limitations limiting victims from bringing to justice, any accused pedophile. And, because I believe that crimes of pedophilia acted upon by catholic priests (and laity), is the worst kind of torture and extortion and ruination of innocent children and disabled adults, and because there is no such thing as a statute of limitations on capitol murder in this country, I believe there should be no statute of limitations on these heinous crimes committed by members of the catholic church.
@ tweeted this page. 2014-02-28 13:32:24 -0600
GA bill will extend SOL for child sex abuse, victims respond http://www.snapnetwork.org/ga_bill_will_extend_sol_for_child_sex_abuse_victims_respond?recruiter_id=21019
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To our friends,

2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’

At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.

To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.

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Warmly,

Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.

Interim Executive Director

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