Guest Post: Abbie Schaub of "The Keepers" on MD Bill to eliminate Statute of Limitations in Civil Cases re: Sexual Abuse of Children #Netflix

The New Jersey legislature just passed a bill allowing adults who were sexually abused as minors to file civil lawsuits until age 55, and also added a unique inclusion saying anyone can file a suit up until the age of 55 OR seven years after they make “the discovery” connecting emotional and psychological injury to their abuse. That phrase creates a 7 year window when anyone regardless of age can file a civil suit. Took them two decades to get that done due to opposition from the Catholic Church. I think nine states have opened some form of limited time window that allow civil lawsuits for damages done in the past regardless of someone’s age.

Meanwhile in Maryland, current SOL [Statute of Limitations] law bans civil lawsuits by anyone harmed if they are older than 38. Maryland House Bill 687, the Hidden Predator Act of 2019, has passed the House and is in the Senate. This bill will abolish time limits going forward for people sexually abused as minors but that would not help anyone harmed before the bill passes. It has an amendment creating a two year window during which those older than 38 now could file civil lawsuits. The Archdiocese of Baltimore, The Archdiocese of Washington DC and the Wilmington, Delaware diocese (all three have parts of Maryland under their domains) fund a professional lobbying group called the Maryland Catholic Conference which is working to defeat the bill. It seems language banning retroactive windows was slipped into a footnote as codified language on the 2017 Statutes of Limitations, unknown to us as was not in the bill itself. First senate hearing will be in afternoon session of the Senate Judiciary Process group [March 28, 2019]  and I and others will attend - not allowed to give testimony as only bill sponsor [Delegate] CT WIlson can do that.

With clergy sexual abuse of minors, most people harmed will never speak of it; it’s estimated only 6% ever do, and the average

“age of disclosure” in one study was thought to be 52 years old.

They are not asking for rules of evidence to be changed, or special treatment in the court system - they are asking for what I thought was an American right - for their day in court to present their case. Right now, arbitrary time limits designed to protect the abusers and organizations which foster them ban them from civil action. This is unfair and needs to be corrected.

Abbie Schaub