Bill to lift limits on child sex abuse lawsuits in Maryland fails

A bill that would have enabled untold numbers of child sexual abuse survivors to file civil lawsuits in Maryland has been defeated.

The Senate’s Judicial Proceedings Committee on Wednesday deadlocked 5-5 on the measure, which would have eliminated the statute of limitations for civil claims related to child sexual abuse. The bill had already sailed through the House of Delegates.

The committee vote infuriated Del. C.T. Wilson, the bill’s sponsor and a survivor of child abuse himself. “They did their best to protect pedophiles,” an angry Wilson said in an interview after the vote.

Wilson observed the committee’s voting session, which he said featured a “tornado” of misinformation about the law and his bill.

Even though Wilson was present, he said none of the senators asked him questions about his bill. He said senators were “cowards” not to discuss the bill with him...

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-abuse-limits-bill-20190403-story.html

When Maryland gave abuse victims more time to sue, it may have also protected institutions, including the Catholic Church

Two years ago, Maryland lawmakers made it easier for adults sexually abused as children to sue institutions that harbored predators.

They may have also irreversibly granted some immunity to the Catholic Church.

A provision tucked into a 2017 law now stands in the way of Maryland joining a nationwide effort to bring justice to victims who come to terms with childhood abuse when they reach middle age and, for decades, have had no recourse in civil courts.

The language was pushed by lobbyists for the Catholic Church two years ago as part of a compromise to extend Maryland’s civil statute of limitations from age 25 to 38. Because it forbids the state from raising the maximum age above 38, it effectively inoculates the church and other organizations from costly lawsuits that could reveal whether they sheltered abusers decades ago.

State lawmakers who heralded the 2017 compromise as a breakthrough for victims now say they were swindled.

“I made a deal with the devil,” said Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles), the sponsor of the 2017 law and a survivor of child sex abuse by his adoptive father.

“I was working with them in good faith,” Wilson, a lawyer, said of the church. “They were behind the scenes, crafting language that protects them forever.”..

...In interviews, several other lawmakers who negotiated the compromise recalled the two church lobbyists who shopped the repose provision, saying they did not want to repeatedly revisit extending the statute of limitations. The lawmakers said they now believe they unwittingly agreed to language that could permanently prevent anyone born before the early 1980s from suing the church...

...Permanent immunity “was never discussed,” said Del. Vanessa E. Atterbeary, (D-Howard), a lawyer who is vice chair of the Judiciary Committee.

“I was in meetings with the Archbishop of Baltimore,” she said. “That’s the sort of conversation I would have remembered.”

Church lobbyist John Stierhoff declined to comment on how the provision got into law. Mary Ellen Russell, the executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference at the time, declined to comment because she no longer works for the organization...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/when-maryland-gave-abuse-victims-more-time-to-sue-it-may-have-also-protected-institutions-including-the-catholic-church/2019/03/31/769537ca-4f3a-11e9-911a-7d51996d6f38_story.html?utm_term=.0f424f458a8b

MoCo Delegate Kathleen Dumais references MD Catholic Conference law firm letter to Oppose bill. Then says she is "not defending the Catholic Church."

On March 16, 2019, Montgomery County Delegate and Majority Leader Kathleen Dumais attempted to have the Maryland House amend House Bill 687 - Hidden Predator Act of 2019, to remove the provision that would allow past victims to file civil claims under a two year "look back" window.  

In Delegate Dumais' presentation of her amendment she referenced multiple letters from the Venable LLC law firm.  

The Venable LLC law firm wrote to the Maryland Catholic Conference in January of this year on the same topic as Dumais' amendment.  

Delegate Dumais' amendment failed in the House by a vote of 3-131.  In defense of her amendment, Delegate Dumais stated "...it's not the Catholic Church. I'm not defending the Catholic Church. I could never defend the Catholic Church, what the Catholic Church has been doing for centuries..."

The video below is the audio from March 16, 2019, with clips of Delegate Dumais' statements with regard to the Venable LLC letters and the Catholic Church. 

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

AUDIO: Del. C.T. Wilson, "We have a habit in Maryland of protecting these institutions...This is an emergency...Up to us to do something about it...Don't reward sneaky behavior." @votectwilson .@KathleenDumais1

Delegate C.T. Wilson, "Maryland has become a dumping ground for pedophile priests."

The video below is the audio feed from the Maryland House of Delegates on March 16, 2019, when Delegate Kathleen Dumais attempted to amend part of Delegate C.T. Wilson's bill to eliminate and extend the Statute of Limitations in civil suits concerning the sexual abuse of children.

Listen to Delegate CT Wilson as he responds to Delegate Kathleen Dumais' attempt to amend his bill.

Listen to the Delegate that says, "In a good faith manner in a very clear, honest and direct way we have tried to establish our legislative intent that we want to open up our courts for an examination, for an attempt to bring justice to children who were sexually abused.  We should speak with that widely and clearly in a bipartisan fashion with one voice.  We want to give those victims every opportunity possible to present their claims."

Montgomery County Delegate Kathleen Dumais presents an amendment to HB 687 that would eliminate the "look back" window in the bill. Delegate CT Wilson and others defend the bill and the provision. Delegate Kathleen Dumais' amendment was rejected 3 - 131.

Listen to the end.  There is a break and the audio is silent while votes are being cast.

MD Delegates Rejected Delegate Kathleen Dumais' Amendment to Remove Two-Year Window in Bill on Lawsuits over Child Sex Abuse @KathleenDumais1 #MoCoDistrict15 #BethesdaPotomacPoolesvilleGermantown

...Wilson sponsored the 2017 bill that expanded the window to file a lawsuit from age 25 to age 38, and is sponsoring this year’s bill.

“We’ve been protecting institutions for generations and years,” Wilson said, deeming the situation “an emergency” that warrants action from lawmakers.

In an interview, Wilson said that abusers have had “legislative protection.” He noted that some Catholic priests accused of abuse in Pennsylvania relocated to Maryland, as outlined in a lengthy report released last year by Pennsylvania’s attorney general.

“Maryland was a repository for bad actors because we had soft laws,” Wilson said.

The delegates rejected an effort to remove that two-year window. Del. Kathleen Dumais argued that it would open the courts to a flood of lawsuits against schools, churches and even the government from long-ago incidents that would be difficult to defend. Dumais, a Montgomery County Democrat, said it would set the court system “on its head.”..

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-house-abuse-bill-20190316-story.html

Dumais, Feldman, King, Fraser-Hidalgo, and Qi Push Law that will take about $308,700 annually from Mont. Co. revenue. And the rich get richer!

(Note the Glenstone Museum was able to route a Ride On bus through their property without any public discussion.  That change in the Tobytown Ride On bus line requires riders to ride through the Glenstone property everytime they use the Ride On to get to and from Tobytown and Rockville.  The Ride On bus enters the locked Glenstone gates to pick up at the private Glenstone Ride On bus stop.  Who else in Montgomery County has a Ride On bus stop on private property behind locked gates and inaccessible to the public?)

...The bill would allow Glenstone to seek property tax exemption for all parts of the land that are used for museum purposes so long as Glenstone remains open to the public and doesn’t charge admission.

Montgomery’s county council and county executive submitted testimony opposing the bill, citing lost revenue.

Right now, state law allows Glenstone to exempt up to 100 acres. If the bill passes, the whole property could eventually be eligible and there are plans to use the entire acreage for artistic purposes. The county’s revenue loss would be about $308,700 annually if the whole property is exempted.

“The cost of this exemption would force the County to either absorb the revenue loss or shift the tax burden to its other taxpayers,” the county Office of Intergovernmental Relations wrote in a letter to the Ways and Means Committee.

The state’s property tax loss would be an estimated $34,800...

https://www.marylandmatters.org/blog/some-montgomery-lawmakers-balk-as-house-passes-museum-tax-break/

Video: MD Legislation to Stop Moving Around Known Sexual Offenders in Public Schools FAILED. Watch Jennifer Alvaro's statement on How this Legislation Would Have Saved MCPS Children from Becoming Victims.

March 1, 2018 public hearing on House Bill 1571.  This bill did not pass.  



House Bill 1571 included the following:

Requires the establishment of policies that support the prevention of, and response to, sexual abuse through:
Comprehensive screening of prospective employees and volunteers to eliminate “passing the trash” among educational institutions and/or other youth serving organizations. Passing the trash occurs when a teacher accused of sexual abuse/misconduct resigns, retires or is terminated and is allowed to quietly move to another school/school district without his or her new employer being alerted to the allegations of misconduct.
Prohibiting the practice by banning confidentiality/separation agreements in instances of sexual misconduct/violence, requiring information sharing between employers, and mandating annual training of all school community stakeholders to recognize and report sexual misconduct.
Development and implementation of codes of conduct to identify inappropriate boundary-violating behaviors that if left unchecked could escalate to reportable sexual offenses; including,methods to interrupt behaviors by school/other personnel that don’t reach the level of abuse.
The assessment and modification of physical facilities and spaces to reduce opportunities for sexual abuse

   2018 Maryland House Testimony 1571 by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

MD Legislature Up to It's Usual 11th Hour Tricks: “At the last minute, the last half-hour, what people didn’t know is they changed that..."

WASHINGTON — After facing years of criticism, the passage of Noah’s Law in 2016 was supposed to show that Maryland lawmakers took drunken driving seriously and were willing to impose stronger sentences.

But now advocates are growing frustrated that the law may not be having the impact it was supposed to thanks to a loophole that allows some people to walk out of court with minimal sentences.

When Gov. Larry Hogan signed The Drunk Driving Reduction Act of 2016, or Noah’s Law, it was widely thought anyone caught driving under the influence would have to get an ignition interlock put on their car, even on the first offense, just like several other states have implemented.

The devices, which come with Noah’s picture on them in Maryland, require you to pass a breathalyzer before you start your car and subsequently again at random times as you drive.

But a key phrase in the way the law was written left open a big loophole.

“The law initially had in it that it was upon arrest that a person would get an interlock,” said Rich Leotta, the father of Montgomery County Police Officer Noah Leotta, whose death at the hands of a drunken driver inspired the law.

“At the last minute, the last half-hour, what people didn’t know is they changed that so it was upon conviction.”..

https://wtop.com/maryland/2018/05/loophole-noahs-law-md-judges-trampling-drunken-driving-act/

Erin's Law Passed in 2016, But Has Not Been Implemented

In 2016, the Maryland General Assembly passed House Bill 72, Erin's Law.  

Erin's Law required:

Maryland schools to implement an “age-appropriate” sexual assault and abuse awareness and prevention program for grades K-12.Capital News Service, 2/4/2016

As passed, House Bill 72 states:

(B) (1) THE STATE BOARD AND EACH NONPUBLIC SCHOOL IN THE STATE SHALL DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A PROGRAM OF AGE–APPROPRIATE EDUCATION ON THE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION OF SEXUAL ABUSE AND ASSAULT. (2) THE PROGRAM REQUIRED UNDER PARAGRAPH (1) OF THIS SUBSECTION SHALL BE:
(I) TAUGHT BY A TEACHER WHO IS TRAINED TO PROVIDE INSTRUCTION ON THE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION OF SEXUAL ABUSE AND ASSAULT; AND
(II) INCORPORATED INTO THE HEALTH CURRICULUM OF EACH COUNTY BOARD AND EACH NONPUBLIC SCHOOL. (C) THE STATE BOARD SHALL ADOPT REGULATIONS TO CARRY OUT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION.
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 1, 2016. Approved by the Governor, May 19, 2016. 

Yet, as of today, April 18, 2018, the Maryland State Board of Education has not adopted any Regulations to carry out the provisions of the bill. 

On March 1, 2018, in a hearing before the Maryland House Ways and Means Committee, Delegate Luedtke mentioned that "it had already been too long since we passed Erin's Law for it to be implemented in the schools" and that he did not want a new bill on sex abuse education to give "a new dictate to MSDE [Maryland State Department of Education] that would then delay further the implementation [of Erin's Law]."  Video of this statement is below.

Does the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and the Maryland State Board of Education have the best interest of children as their goal? Does MSDE and the Maryland State Board of Education follow Maryland law?

A Maryland bill passed to help keep students safe from sexual abuse and assault has not been implemented two years after passage, and the failure to implement that law caused legislators concern this year about passing additional laws to keep children safe.

-came to police with an account of longtime abuse by her former Spanish teacher, starting when she was 10 years old. Fernando Asturizaga, now 51, was convicted of rape and child abuse and sentenced to more than 100 years in prison in 2012-

County Police Revisit Cold Case of Missing Bethesda Woman, Seeking Information About Man Who Abused Her Young Daughter: Investigators now believe Alison Thresher was killed in her apartment in May 2000

Letter: [This] compromise might better be described as merely a pretense that would allow legislators to get this issue off their plate without, in reality, protecting children #SB132/HB500 #MGA18

To the Editor:

Neither Shanta Trivedi (“Abuse reporting bills would criminalize teachers,” March 12) nor Joyce Lombardi (“Punish those who knowingly fail to report,” March 14) gets it right.  I agree with Ms. Lombardi in her response to Ms.Trivedi that the knowing failure to report should be punished. But Ms. Lombardi misrepresents the scope of the bill in one direction as much as Ms. Trivedi does in the other.   She fails to mention that the bill undermines an important 1993 Attorney General's opinion that requires mandatory reporters to report after the child victim turns eighteen. Pedophiles do not stop abusing children because a timeline on one victim is added in Maryland law. They go on to abuse other children.

Without this opinion the shocking disclosures of the notorious Maskell case would never have come to light, as chronicled in the Netflix series, The Keepers.  The Baltimore Archdiocese affirms on its website, in an answer to a question about the NetFlix documentary, that it reported the Maskell case in 1993 only because of that opinion.

One only needs to look again at the USA Gymnastics scandal to find out what is wrong with SB 132/HB 500. Its provisions are in line with the USA Gymnastics policy which caused this horrendous scandal in the first place.  One gymnast, who was twenty years old at the time, reported to organization officials that team physician Larry Nassar sexually abused her as a child. He is a middle-aged prolific pedophile who was still sexually abusing young girls. Its investigator never reported because she was twenty-years-old.  Moreover, its former director, followed the “actual knowledge” standard in the bill as well. If he personally did not see the abuse, even if he received complaints from other coaches or victims, he did not report it to authorities.

Ms. Lombardi talks about compromise. But the federal government and no other states have a compromise anything like this. The inclusion of the radical “actual knowledge” language (undefined in the bill) would chill reports and prompt those without a professional penalty to delay reporting until they witness the abuse. Having two reporting standards would muddy the obligation to report and encourage internal investigations prior to reporting to determine which standard applies.  Congressional bipartisan legislation just enacted, Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act, criminally penalizes the failure to report abuse in U.S. Amateur Athletic Organizations on the grounds of “reason to suspect,” not “actual knowledge” of abuse or “witnessing the act of abuse.”

Most important, it is wrong to claim that prosecutors could ever use this language to prosecute anyone.  According to the Baltimore City State’s Attorney, in her testimony on SB 132, “It is nearly impossible from a legal perspective to prove that an individual had ‘actual knowledge’ of abuse. . . “  That kind of compromise might better be described as merely a pretense that would allow legislators to get this issue off their plate without, in reality, protecting children.

Ellen Mugmon

Former Chair, Legislative Committee of the State Council on Child Abuse and Neglect

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-rr-child-abuse-letter-20180315-story.html

Bill spurred by Nassar scandal concerns Catholic Church

Updated: February 27, 2018 7:41 pm

LANSING, Michigan — A Michigan bill inspired by the Larry Nassar scandal that would retroactively extend the amount of time child victims of sexual abuse have to sue their abusers is drawing concerns from the Catholic Church, which has paid out billions of dollars to settle U.S. clergy abuse cases.

Michigan Catholic Conference spokesman David Maluchnik confirmed Tuesday that extending the statute of limitations is “of concern” to the church’s lobbying arm, but he withheld further comment until the bill’s impact could be fully reviewed. He said the group supports other parts of a 10-bill package introduced Monday, including a measure that would add more people to the list of those who must report suspected abuse to child protective services...

https://bangordailynews.com/2018/02/27/news/nation/bill-spurred-by-nassar-case-concerns-catholic-church/

7 On Your Side: Maryland bill to protect children may not be effective

Update: This bill did not pass in the 2018 legislative session.

Legislature Proposes Bill that would be "Nearly Impossible" to Use

 Children will Continue to be Victimized by Known Sexual Predators in our Schools when Administrators Fail to Report without Consequences.

A Washington Post article today  discusses legislation that has been proposed by the Maryland General Assembly to add a criminal penalty for professionals, including public school administrators, who fail to report suspected child abuse of children.  (Click here to read about MCPS administrators, including the superintendent, who failed to report MCPS teacher John Vigna to the police or Child Protective Services when they were informed he was lap sitting with his female students.)

As reported by ABC7, only Maryland and Wyoming do not have penalties for failure to report child abuse.  The legislation proposed in this session of the General Assembly would supposedly change that for Maryland, except that if the bill is useless what will actually change?  

Below is the Statement of Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby on Senate Bill 132 - Child Abuse and Neglect - Failure to Report. Her statement below explains why Senate Bill 132/House Bill 500 as written will not be useful to prosecutors if passed. 

"...I suggest amending the "actual knowledge" standard to "knowledge." To prove a crime occurred under the current language, the listed professionals must have "actual knowledge" of the abuse or neglect. It is nearly impossible from a legal perspective to prove that an individual had "actual knowledge" of abuse, especially if the mandatory reporter contends that they did not see the abuse occur and did not believe the child's disclosure."

   Jan. 23, 2018:  Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby Letter on Senate Bill  132 by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

Should teachers [Administrators], doctors and social workers face jail time for failing to report child abuse?

A judge last year sentenced Deonte Carraway, an aide who molested more than 20 students at a Maryland elementary school, to 100 years in prison on 23 counts of child sex abuse and pornography.
But prosecutors did not have the option to seek charges against anyone who they felt should have reported the abuse but failed to do so, because Maryland is one of only two states that does not allow criminal penalties for that type of violation.

“We were able to hold Mr. Carraway accountable for his actions . . . but what we have not done is further close the loophole that would make us able to say to parents that we can assure to them that this will never happen again,” Prince George’s State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks recently told a panel of state lawmakers.

The General Assembly is now considering whether mandatory reporters — health practitioners, police officers, educators and human service workers — should face a misdemeanor charge and up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine for failing to report child abuse if they have “actual knowledge” that it has occurred.

Maryland and Wyoming are the only states that do not impose criminal penalties for failure to report, which can lead to felony charges in several states, including Arizona, Minnesota and Connecticut...

...Jennifer Alvaro, a longtime clinician in the field of child sexual abuse, said she supports criminal penalties but doesn’t support the bill because “actual knowledge” is “an impossibly high standard.”..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/should-teachers-doctors-and-social-workers-face-jail-for-failing-to-report-child-abuse/2018/02/15/1d3281c2-119e-11e8-9065-e55346f6de81_story.html?utm_term=.38c048dfd9d5

WTOP: Md. child abuse bills aim for more accountability #SB 132/HB 500

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Two bills stemming from recent cases of child abuse in Maryland are making their way through the state legislature, which would hold mandatory reporters — those who have to report suspected child abuse by law — accountable when it comes to preserving and protecting children.

The first bill, more than a decade in the making, would assign a $1,000 fine and six months in prison for professionals such as teachers and social workers who have actual knowledge of child neglect or abuse and fail to report it.

Testifying in front of the House Judiciary Committee, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks reminded delegates about the case of convicted child predator Deonte Carraway, who is serving more than 100 years in prison for the abuse of 23 children both on and off school grounds when he worked as a teacher’s aide and volunteer.

Court documents said multiple educators, including the principal, knew of Carraway’s inappropriate and familiar behavior with the children, as well as the potential for abuse, and did not report it...

...Montgomery County Del. Kathleen Dumais questioned why the penalty of losing a teaching certification was not a strong enough penalty. “If you take their license away, I think that would send a message,” Dumais said in the hearing...

...The bill is the result of years of compromises between opposing parties, both sides have said. And while it is closer now to becoming law, child advocate Ellen Mugman said it lacks specificity in the defining of “actual knowledge” and in excluding mandatory reporters from any penalty after the victim has reached adulthood...

https://wtop.com/maryland/2018/02/md-child-abuse-bills-aim-for-more-accountability-welfare-checks/

NBC4: Delegate Dumais Opposed to Legislation that Would Hold Administrators Criminally Responsible for Failure to Report Sexual Abuse of Students

Teachers, principals and doctors are legally required to report suspected child abuse. In most states, there are seriously penalties if they don't. But in Maryland, that's not the case. Proposed legislation in the state calls for six months jail time and a $100 fine. Prince George's County State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks said she hopes the Deonte Carraway case, in which a school aide abused children in an elementary school bathroom, will spark a change. "The principal knew something wasn't right, as did other school officials, but did nothing about it," she said. News4's Tracee Wilkins reports.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Maryland-Reporting-of-Child-Abuse_Washington-DC-473463043.html

Del. Kathleen Dumais: "I think it is better to try and work on prevention issues than necessarily criminalize things," #sexabuse #failuretoreport #mcps #Vigna #CloverlyElementarySchool .@KathleenDumais1

This WBAL news story is from 2012 and explains why the Maryland legislature does not enact legislation that holds adults accountable when they fail to protect children.  Here in Maryland, keeping children safe is simply not our priority.  Remember it is just Maryland and Wyoming that have failed to enact legislation that would hold adults criminally responsible for their failure to report child sex abuse. 

ANNAPOLIS, Md. —

Some Maryland state lawmakers hope to impose criminal sanctions on people who do not report report suspected child abuse or neglect.

Current state law requires reporting, but the state does does not have the power to prosecute when someone doesn't follow the law. Prompted by events that unfolded at Penn State University involving Jerry Sandusky last year, lawmakers in Maryland are taking action to protect children, but members of the General Assembly are divided...

..."We should make it a civil offense where you could be forced to pay a fine and not actually face jail time. Let's see if that works before we create another crime," said Montgomery County Sen. Jamie Raskin, D-District 20.

"I think it is better to try and work on prevention issues than necessarily criminalize things," said Montgomery County Delegate Kathleen Dumais, D-District 15.

Competing legislation pending in the General Assembly does include criminal penalties.

Deborah Baldwin said she supports criminal penalties. Baldwin said her daughter's cheerleading coach declined to do anything when the girl revealed she was assaulted by a referee.

"We are required by law to send our children to school, and we expect them to be safe," she said. "There should be a law that requires teachers to protect children from these situations."

The General Assembly has declined to pass similar legislation introduced four times in the past eight years...

http://www.wbaltv.com/article/bill-seeks-to-criminalize-failure-to-report-child-abuse/7072485

False hope for Md. childhood sexual assault survivors

At first glance, the newly enacted Maryland law that extends the statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual abuse from age 25 to age 38 appears to offer hope to individuals who, for any number of reasons, are psychologically unable or unwilling to seek a remedy for the horrors they experienced as children until they are well into adulthood.

That’s not how it worked out, however, and at the very least this law delivers false hope. House Bill 642 instead dealt a stealthy and significant win to the Archdiocese of Baltimore — and any other employer that has allowed perpetrators under their purview to persist in terrorizing children.

Here’s why. Although the law extends the statute of limitations from age 25 to 38, it adds an onerous requirement: Victims older than 25 who sue a rapist’s employer must now meet the notoriously difficult-to-prove gross negligence standard. Before this law, a sexual-abuse victim had to demonstrate ordinary negligence by the employer. What the new law means is that older victims suing potentially culpable employers, such as the Archdiocese of Baltimore in the priest-rape cases, must prove that the employer was acting with thoughtless disregard for the consequences without the exertion of any effort to avoid them.

Therefore, schools or camps or other organizations that purport to care for children, but allow abuse under their noses, can get off the hook and avoid compensating victims because proving gross negligence is just too hard...

...This punitive outcome from legislation that was clearly mischaracterized as rendering only a benefit to victims is unacceptable and it should be changed during the next session of the Maryland General Assembly. One way to right this wrong would be to take the high road — an approach that has worked next door in Delaware. That state lifted the statute of limitations on lawsuits for two years for victims of pediatric sexual abuse, giving them an open window to bring suit no matter how old the incidents and regardless of the reason that the victim failed to file before. Such an approach came at no cost to taxpayers, and it helped ensure that pedophiles were identified and possibly prevented from causing harm to other children...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-op-1012-abuse-victims-redress-20171011-story.html