Zirkin Returns to Old Committee to Testify Against [Delegate CT] Wilson’s Child Sex Abuse Bill #SB134 -“Biggest mistake of my life,” Wilson told Maryland Matters this week, likening the experience to “negotiating with the devil.”

Former Senate Judicial Proceedings chairman Robert A. Zirkin (D-Baltimore County) returned to his former committee this week to testify against a high-profile bill that’s a follow-up to a measure he once championed.

The woman who replaced Zirkin in the Senate last year, Sen. Shelly L. Hettleman (D-Baltimore County), has joined Del. CT Wilson (D-Charles) in his fight to eliminate the statute of limitations for child sex abuse survivors to launch civil suits. The bill was up in the Judicial Proceedings Committee, where Hettleman serves, on Tuesday...

...This legislation is something that Wilson has fought for for years — at times with Zirkin’s help.

In 2017, Wilson successfully sponsored legislation to extend the ability of childhood sexual abuse survivors to pursue civil lawsuits against their offenders from seven years after their 18th birthday to 20 years. 

Additionally, if a perpetrator was convicted in a criminal suit at any time, their victims were allotted a three-year lookback period to sue.

To achieve this, Wilson said that he, former Senate president Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr.’s Office and former House Judiciary Committee chair Joseph F. Vallario Jr. (D-Prince George’s) entered into negotiations with the Catholic church to amend the bill. 

“Biggest mistake of my life,” Wilson told Maryland Matters this week, likening the experience to “negotiating with the devil.”..

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2021/02/05/zirkin-returns-to-old-committee-to-testify-against-wilsons-child-sex-abuse-bill/?fbclid=IwAR2R66Jm34HptVbvw_Md0HAj_hcy3rt2gmnBQwZM3nUkV0x2sk0CsvX1z-w

Breaking the Silence on Sexual Abuse of Students in Maryland Public Schools

pic.twitter.com/0i8ZrNjYxZ

— jennifer alvaro (@jennifermalvaro) July 19, 2017

Netflix crime series spurs calls for Maryland church to reveal priest's past

Passing the legislation is “unwarranted and unjust,” the Maryland Catholic Conference wrote in testimony submitted last month against the bill.

A Maryland lawmaker raped as a child can’t get his bill for sex assault survivors passed

...As it stands, a criminal case against an abuser can be pursued anytime, no matter how long ago the abuse happened.
But a civil case — the kind of action that can get a patient’s treatment paid for — has a statute of limitations. Victims have seven years once they reach adulthood to file a civil suit against a molester or a school, a team or a church that enabled that abuser.
And unless a victim comes to terms with the abuse, recognizes it, fights through it and files a civil suit before age 25, no dice. And that’s a big problem. Because many victims of childhood sexual abuse repress the memories in order to survive. Some even kill themselves...

...House Judiciary Committee Chairman Joseph F. Vallario Jr. (D-Prince George’s) has refused to put the bill up for a vote. He did not respond to my request for comment...

Click here to read full article.

Petition: Stop Maryland Serial Rapists and Child Molesters- Pass HB218 and SB235

Parents' Coalition note: We are amazed by the fact that this petition was started by the Office of the State Attorney for Baltimore.  On the other hand, here in Montgomery County our office of State's Attorney questions why trafficking and leaving kids with known sex offenders should be included in our public school policies.  We do not see the same level of advocacy for children here in Montgomery County that is being seen in Baltimore.  Why is that? 
 

We need your support to pass Maryland House Bill 218... and  Maryland Senate Bill 235...  This legislation will close loopholes that allow serial predators to hide their prior bad acts from juries.

Under current law, Maryland prosecutors are prohibited from introducing evidence of a defendant’s past predatory sex acts as evidence to be considered during trial. For years, Nelson Clifford, convicted serial rapist, used this loophole in the law to escape justice four times before he was finally convicted and sentenced last year.  Clifford was able to convince juries again and again that the sex was consensual and we were forbidden from telling juries about his other charges.

We cannot let another Nelson Clifford slip through our grasp. We need to pass HB218 and SB235 now to stop other serial rapists and child molesters before they can attack again.
Sign the petition today to tell your representatives in the Maryland General Assembly that it is time to stop serial rapists and child molesters.  In the interest of justice, in the interest of fairness, in the interest of the safety of your family and friends, join our fight today.

 https://www.change.org/p/maryland-general-assembly-stop-serial-rapists-and-child-molesters-pass-hb157-sb235?recruiter=1617484&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_term=mob-xs-no_src-no_msg