RI toughens mandatory reporting law; Victims respond

For immediate release: Friday, July 8, 2016

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790,314 645 5915 home, [email protected])

We applaud the brave and compassionate Rhode Island abuse victims and children’s advocates who have won reforms in the state’s mandatory reporting law. We hope state lawmakers will now take a crucial next step and relax or repeal Rhode Island’s archaic, predator-friendly statute of limitations, the single biggest obstacle that prevents child sex abuse victims from protecting kids and exposing cover ups.

http://ripr.org/post/governor-signs-bill-closing-st-georges-loophole

Because they’re driven by overwhelming, deeply-rooted compulsions that are very hard to control, few child molesters are deterred by threat of penalty. Their colleagues and supervisors, however, can be deterred from acting timidly, selfishly and irresponsibly, but only if authorities clarify and use mandatory reporting laws and push for severe sentences for those who violate those laws. That’s why yesterday’s progress is so important – it will help stop predators after their second or third victim, not their 22^nd or 33rd victim.

Sometimes, however, those who commit and conceal sexual violence against kids can’t be charged or convicted in court. Usually, the reason is excessively tight criminal and civil statutes of limitations. We hope Rhode Island legislators will now move to reform these arbitrary deadlines that give wrongdoers incentives to intimidate victims, threaten witnesses, discredit whistleblowers, destroy evidence and even flee the country.

No matter what lawmakers or church officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in schools, churches or other institutions – especially private ones - to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling law enforcement, get justice by calling attorneys, and be comforted by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 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 (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, [email protected])

Governor Signs Bill Closing 'St. George's Loophole'

By ELISABETH HARRISON • 20 HOURS AGO

Governor Gina Raimondo has signed a bill requiring schools to contact child welfare authorities when they suspect sexual abuse of their employees. The bill also requires the state's child welfare office to investigate allegations of abuse in schools.

The bill was inspired by the investigation of St. George's School, an elite boarding school on Aquidneck Island, where dozens of former students have alleged abuse by staff and fellow students.

The school has apologized and offered to  . . . 

Read full article here