Sign Child Victims Act petition. Give Minnesota Victims Their Rights!

• Posted to Say NO MORE to child sex abuse in… by Andrew Willis
• Feb 10

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To: Governor Mark Dayton and the Minnesota Legislature

Child Sex abuse is a serious crime shrouded in shame and secrecy.  It can take decades before victims are ready to report the abuse.  Perpetrators and institutions that help facilitate the abuse must be held accountable no matter how much time has gone by.

Victims deserve justice.  These cases...

…

Child Sex abuse is a serious crime shrouded in shame and secrecy.  It can take decades before victims are ready to report the abuse.  Perpetrators and institutions that help facilitate the abuse must be held accountable no matter how much time has gone by.

Victims deserve justice.  These cases must be decided on the factual merits and not blocked by an arbitrary, legal loophole that allows perpetrators to run out the clock and escape accountability. We support the elimination of the civil statute of limitation for child sex abuse so victims may, at any time, sue their abuser and the institution that allowed their abuse to occur.

We support the retroactive elimination of the civil statute of limitations for child sex abuse so adults who were abused as children can also file civil lawsuits. By exposing those who have abused children in the past, we can keep them from continuing to sexually abuse children today.

Please pass the Minnesota Child Victims Act.

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We know America has a problem with child sexual abuse. We know Minnesota does too.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a United States federal agency, almost a quarter of America's children are sexually abused before they are 18 years old.

That's sad, but what's even sadder is we know how to stop it.

An immediate thing we can do is remove the arcane laws that set arbitrary limits on how long a child sexual abuse survivor has to report and prosecute his abuser. These laws protect child abusers from prosecution and deny justice to survivors who have often been traumatized for years.

Today, even if you have video evidence from a security camera of being raped, even if there was DNA evidence available, even if you have a confession, even then, if you are just a few days too old you discover your abuser is protected by law. Protected to go on abusing other children.

We hear awful stories of children, now grown, trying to protect their own children from rapist fathers. Children who have hidden their fears for years finding courage to confront their rapist fathers. Children once silenced by fear and shame now silenced by statutes of limitations that don't apply to murder and often don't apply to parking tickets either. Children, now grown, fighting to protect their children from the very family members who abused them years before.

It's shameful to protect predators when we have the science to stop them. Please get involved in asking Gov. Mark Dayton and the Minnesota Legislature to pass the Child Victims Act.

Location: Minnesota, United States

1. Update #8

   Posted by Andrew Willis (Campaign Leader) on May 10

   Congratulations Minnesota!

   Congratulations Minnesota.  The court house doors will be opened.  Survivors long denied justice will be allowed to bring their cases in court and organizations that shielded their abusers will be held accountable.

   In itself all good news.

   These cases will strengthen child protection processes in organizations and the next generation of children will be better protected.  According to the CDC stopping abuse before it occurs saves a significant national taxpayer burden of $124 billion a year.

   Great work Minnesota!!!

2. Update #7

   Posted by Andrew Willis (Campaign Leader) on May 7

   The MN Child Victims Act is up for the Senate vote Wednesday just after 11:00 AM, second  item on their schedule. 

   Please call your senator's office early tomorrow morning and give them some positive energy!

   Thank you.

3. Update #6

   Posted by Andrew Willis (Campaign Leader) on Mar 21

   Hawaii recently eliminated statutes of limitations of child sexual abuse.  Read this story where an Attorney shows how a church hid a molestor by moving him - 14 times so he avoided prosecution!!  Then please share this petition with your friends. 
   

   Thank you.

   Andrew & Kenny
   

   
   

   

   
   

4. Update #5

   Posted by Andrew Willis (Campaign Leader) on Mar 19
   This OpEd in strong support of the Child Victims Act is worth reading.  Please share it with your friends and ask them to join you in signing this petition to keep Minnesota's children safe.
   
   Thanks,
   
   Andrew & Kenny
   
   Give Minnesota sex abuse victims more time for justice
   James C. Backstrom is the Dakota County attorney.
   
   We must recognize that the nature of these incidents means that feelings can be repressed well into adulthood.
   
   

   Childhood sexual abuse is an epidemic. More than 80,000 American kids ...

   …

   This OpEd in strong support of the Child Victims Act is worth reading.  Please share it with your friends and ask them to join you in signing this petition to keep Minnesota's children safe.
   
   Thanks,
   
   Andrew & Kenny
   
   Give Minnesota sex abuse victims more time for justice
   James C. Backstrom is the Dakota County attorney.
   
   We must recognize that the nature of these incidents means that feelings can be repressed well into adulthood.
   
   

   Childhood sexual abuse is an epidemic. More than 80,000 American kids are sexually abused every year. One in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before they reach age 18. Nearly 70 percent of all reported sexual assaults (including assaults on adults) occur against children ages 17 and under.

   Some of these tragedies make high-profile news, like the Jerry Sandusky/Penn State scandal last year and the recent criminal charges against Lynn Seibel, a former teacher at Shattuck-St. Mary's boarding school in Faribault. Most of these incidents, however, never get reported to police and prosecutors or see the light of day in a civil courtroom. Most victims of childhood sexual abuse lock away memories of horrible trauma deep inside their minds, for many years.

   This is not that hard to understand if you think about it. These are frightened kids who often do not fully comprehend what is happening to them. And the vast majority are preyed upon by someone they know and trust: a parent or sibling, a relative, a coach, a teacher, a minister or priest, a Boy Scout leader, or an older family friend. Few actually fall victim to unknown sexual predators — and those few cases are much more likely to be reported promptly to law enforcement.

   Most child victims of sexual crimes repress the troubling memories for many years, though these memories will often come bubbling back to the surface at some point in their lives. And when they do, these victims, who are now adults, deserve a chance at justice.

   We have done a good job in the last 20 years of expanding the criminal statute of limitations in cases of this nature, so that perpetrators can be found and held accountable for their crimes. Today, in Minnesota, the criminal statute of limitations for a child sexually abused before age 18 is the latter of nine years after the offense or three years after it is reported to law enforcement. In other words, it is nonexistent for practical purposes.

   Sadly, the same is not true of the civil statute of limitations. Today, in our state, court interpretation of existing law prohibits the filing of a claim for damages by a victim of childhood sexual abuse more than six years after the trauma was last inflicted. As a society, we must recognize the pain, trauma and feelings of guilt that lead child victims of sexual abuse to repress these incidents for many years, often well into adulthood. It is in the interest of justice and protecting these most vulnerable victims to allow them to seek redress for the pain and suffering they have endured once they finally realize the full extent of their victimization.

   

   

   
   
   

   
   

5. Update #4

   Posted by Andrew Willis (Campaign Leader) on Mar 6

   First the good news!  The Minnesota Child Victims Act passed the House Civil Law Committee.  Congratulations.  Working together we are making a difference.

   We still have more to do though, please click the big green button and ask your friends to join us in signing the petition.  Here's another case of statutes being quoted to avoid owning up to abuse.  Working together we can give victims back their rights and help law enforcement do their job.

   Kevin Clash's Lawyer Asks For Child Sexual...

   …

   First the good news!  The Minnesota Child Victims Act passed the House Civil Law Committee.  Congratulations.  Working together we are making a difference.

   We still have more to do though, please click the big green button and ask your friends to join us in signing the petition.  Here's another case of statutes being quoted to avoid owning up to abuse.  Working together we can give victims back their rights and help law enforcement do their job.

   Kevin Clash's Lawyer Asks For Child Sexual Assault Lawsuit To Be Dismissed Citing Statutes Of Limitations Have Run Out.

   Embattled former Sesame Street puppeteer Kevin Clash has asked a judge to dismiss three lawsuits accusing him of inappropriate sexual acts with underage men. 

   The man behind beloved character Elmo became embroiled in a sex scandal last year after he was accused of having relations with a string of men when they were minors. 

   Clash quit the show in November as the scandal continued to play out and he was hit with legal action over the allegations, although he denied the claims. 

   On Friday, his lawyer filed a motion in a New York City court to have three lawsuits dismissed, claiming the statutes of limitations had expired.

   In his brief, obtained by Eonline.com, attorney Michael Berger writes, "There are two applicable types of statutes of limitations, a six-year one based on when the right of action has accrued, and a three-year one based on when the alleged victim turned eighteen and was therefore no longer under the disability of being a minor." 

   All three lawsuits were lodged in November and December, but Berger argues that the three men needed to have filed suit earlier than 2012 to be within their rights to pursue legal action. 

   Meanwhile Jeff Herman, who is representing all three plaintiffs, is convinced the motion to "avoid liability on technical grounds" will be unsuccessful. 

   He explains, "It should be noted his motion does not say the abuse did not happen, just that it is too late to file the complaints. The law we are proceeding under recognises the rights of victims to bring their lawsuits within six years from the time they connect their injuries to the abuse. We are hopeful the Court will see it our way, however, by being able to bring their claims forth publicly the victims are already further along in the healing process."

   Full story at Starpulse.com

   

   
   

6. Update #3

   Posted by Andrew Willis (Campaign Leader) on Mar 2

   We have fantastic news!

   The Minnesota Child Victims Act passed the Senate Judicial Committee. It will now go to the Senate floor. 
   
   Thank you for everything you have done to make this happen. The effort is not over though - we're hoping we can continue to count on you! 

   The House Civil Law Committee will take up the bill on March 6th.  We know what we need to do to win now and provided a guide in this Causes Action to show what we need to do to get through the next stage.
   
   All of us working...

   …

   We have fantastic news!

   The Minnesota Child Victims Act passed the Senate Judicial Committee. It will now go to the Senate floor. 
   
   Thank you for everything you have done to make this happen. The effort is not over though - we're hoping we can continue to count on you! 

   The House Civil Law Committee will take up the bill on March 6th.  We know what we need to do to win now and provided a guide in this Causes Action to show what we need to do to get through the next stage.
   
   All of us working together are making a real difference.  We're emailing the petition out to some more people tonight,  we're hoping to double the number of signatures this week.

   What we need you to do is follow the new instructions on the Causes page for reaching your house member, then please call them and if you have time call the House Civil Law Committee too.

   Thanks, and congratulations!

   Andrew & Kenny

   PS.  Remember you'll find all the information you need at the National Center For Victims of Crime website.

   PPS.  Here's a link to the story on Minnesota Public Radio
   

7. Update #2

   Posted by Andrew Willis (Campaign Leader) on Feb 25

   Friends,
   
   I signed this petition to stop my two boys going through the abuse I went through - and thanks for being one of the first 888 to sign with me.

   The Child Victims Act is important because:

   • According to the CDC's Adverse Childhood Experience Study (ACE STUDY), child sex abuse victims, often silenced as children, go on to be silenced as adults by trauma, depression, addiction, and shame.
   • Pedophiles don't retire.  Child predators keep abusing kids until we stop them, but the law puts a time...

   …

   Friends,
   
   I signed this petition to stop my two boys going through the abuse I went through - and thanks for being one of the first 888 to sign with me.

   The Child Victims Act is important because:

   • According to the CDC's Adverse Childhood Experience Study (ACE STUDY), child sex abuse victims, often silenced as children, go on to be silenced as adults by trauma, depression, addiction, and shame.
   • Pedophiles don't retire.  Child predators keep abusing kids until we stop them, but the law puts a time limit on such actions against abusers and the institutions that shelter them.

   • Our laws should give victims enough time to hold perpetrators accountable.

   
   

   Please help us achieve our first target of 1,000 signatures by sharing this with your friends because our Kids can't wait, they need protecting now.

   If we all work together, all do a little, then working together we can achieve so much.  Thank you for everything you do to #stopabuse, we're making a difference.

   Andrew

   PS.  Can you get 5 friends to sign this petition so we can keep Minnesota's kids safe?  After all, according to the CDC, almost a quarter of our children are sexually abused before they are 18 years old.  Help us #stopabuse.  

   

   
   

8. Update #1

   Posted by Andrew Willis (Campaign Leader) on Feb 20

   Thanks for signing the petition, please help us get this message to more people.
   

   According to the US Centers for Disease Control, almost a quarter of children in the U.S. are sexually abused. There are almost 750,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S.
   
   That's a lot of abuse and a lot of sex offenders - but that's only the ones we know about, because unfortunately almost all child sex abuse goes unreported - and when it does, we know that abusers often continue to abuse kids well into their...

   …

   Thanks for signing the petition, please help us get this message to more people.
   

   According to the US Centers for Disease Control, almost a quarter of children in the U.S. are sexually abused. There are almost 750,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S.
   
   That's a lot of abuse and a lot of sex offenders - but that's only the ones we know about, because unfortunately almost all child sex abuse goes unreported - and when it does, we know that abusers often continue to abuse kids well into their eighties and nineties!  
   
   Child Abusers don't retire.  Pedophiles keep abusing kids till we stop them.
   
   So why does Minnesota law protect pedophiles and the powerful interests that shelter them?  Why does Minnesota law continue to put our children at risk?  Haven't we been talking about child abuse for too long? 
   
   Pass the Child Victims Act and finally stop abuse and provide justice to abuse victims?
   
   It's not too late to protect our children, and its not too late for justice for child sex abuse victims either.  We need the first 1,000 signatures on our petition to Governor Mark Dayton and state lawmakers to support and pass the Child Victims Act today!
   
   It's time for Minnesota to give survivors back their voice and allow them their day in court.
   
   Abuse costs US taxpayers $500 billion a year, a number that conceals untold human suffering, and yet current laws in Minnesota protect pedophiles and put our children at risk.
   
   Be the change! Sign the petition, and work with us to pass the Child Victims Act introduced by Senator Ron Latz and Representative Steve Simon here in Minnesota.
   
   Click that green button and help us pass the Child Victims Act in Minnesota now!
   
   Thanks
   
Andrew & Kenny

   PS.  Please help more people sign the petition by sharing this on your Facebook, Twitter, and other social media.  Thanks for all you do to #stopabuse!