"Soul Murder" Documentary

These abuse survivors thought they knew the details. Then came the clergy reports. [Now do @mcps @mocoboe!]

 

While the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal erupted decades ago, details in official investigative reports are incredibly powerful for survivors

Since the 1990s, when Jean Wehner started to remember the “sexual torture” she endured as a Catholic high school student, she has sued the Baltimore Archdiocese, written a memoir and appeared in a Netflix documentary about her abuse. But the release last week of a Maryland attorney general’s report citing decades worth of internal church records about her abuser — it all brought a kind of bitter validation, Wehner says, to that terrified little girl.

“I’m my own worst detective as an adult. I was taught by my faith system to be a good girl, not to lie, not to believe something that isn’t true. I’m always still doubting myself and dissecting everything and challenging myself,” said Wehner, 69, now a wellness practitioner in Elkridge. “This puts the detective to rest. The adult me, who has been trying to integrate with this child, can now say: ‘Oh hell yes, I will 100 percent stand up for you.’”..

Catholic clergy sexual abuse reports are still incredibly powerful for survivors - The Washington Post

Decades of sexual abuse in Baltimore Catholic churches: Report l GMA [Now do @mcps @mocoboe!]

Investigations of Archdiocese of Washington, Diocese of Wilmington are ongoing, Maryland AG says [NOW DO PUBLIC SCHOOLS!]

Moments before releasing a 456-page grand jury report detailing decades of sexual abuse and cover-ups within the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said on Wednesday that his office has also been investigating the Archdiocese of Washington and Diocese of Wilmington.

Speaking to reporters at his offices in St. Paul Plaza in Baltimore, Brown said investigators launched those inquiries at the same time that they began looking into the Archdiocese of Baltimore in 2018. He described those investigations as ongoing.

“We have issued subpoenas. We have been looking into this matter. And we will continue to do so,” Brown said...

The Archdiocese of Washington and Diocese of Wilmington: Maryland AG investigating - The Baltimore Banner

Child sex abuse victims fear delays in courts even if statute of limitations bill passes

Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023 would eliminate statute of limitations to bring civil case against abusers 

ANNAPOLIS, Md. —

Child sex abuse survivors are pushing a bill that would eliminate the statute of limitations to bring a civil case against an abuser, but they're concerned about potential delays in the courts if the bill is passed.

For the first time in years since similar legislation has been introduced, there is a political will in Annapolis to eliminate the statute of limitations and to repeal a provision giving the Catholic Church sweeping immunity from sex-abuse lawsuits...

Child sex abuse victims fear delays in courts even if bill passes (wbaltv.com)

Baltimore judge orders release of redacted Catholic church sexual abuse report

A Baltimore judge has ordered the public release of a redacted version of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office report detailing the history of childhood sexual abuse in the Catholic church.

Circuit Judge Robert Taylor presided over secret proceedings Tuesday, with attorneys representing the attorney general’s office, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, an anonymous group of people named in the report, and two separate groups of abuse survivors.

Taylor issued his written ruling Friday, directing the attorney general’s office to prepare a heavily-redacted report for public release...

Baltimore judge orders release of redacted Catholic church sexual abuse report – Baltimore Sun

Pass the Child Victims Act of 2023 (HB01/SB686)! Maryland: Protect Kids Not Predators

The Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023 will give survivors access to justice and help protect children from sexual abuse by bringing predators to light.

About The Child Victims Act of 2023

Read the bills HB001 and SB686.

Legislative Updates 

Email justice4mdsurvivors if you would like to help. 

Call To Action

What are The Child Victims of 2023 Act Goals?

Arm trusted adults with information to protect children

Shift the cost of abuse from victims to those who caused the harm

Provide a path to justice for victims ready to come forward

Identify Hidden Predators

Disclose facts of sex abuse epidemic to the public

The 2023 Child Victims Act :

It’s important to understand the key elements of the bill:

1. The legislation will eliminate the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse.
2. It will repeal the so-called "statute of repose".
3. It will create a permanent window for older claims.
4. It will allow both public and private entities to be sued.
5. It will eliminate the notice of claims deadlines for public entities in child sexual abuse cases.
6. The legislation will have some limitations on liability to a single claimant for injuries arising from a single incident or occurrence:
1. for retroactive claims (the statute of limitations has already run):
   • for private entities:
   1. $1.5 million cap on non-economic damages
   2. no cap on economic damages
   • for public entities:
   1. $850,000 cap for damages
2. for prospective claims (the statute of limitations has not run):
• for private entities
1. no caps on either economic or non-economic claims
• for public entities
1. $850,000 cap for damages

Advocacy Child Abuse Lobbying | Justice4mdsurvivors | Maryland

Baltimore judge seals case as attorneys fight over release of Catholic church sex abuse report

The legal fight will continue behind closed doors about whether a Baltimore judge should release a 456-page investigation into child sexual abuse within the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Baltimore Circuit Judge Anthony Vittoria ordered the case sealed on Friday. His order means all hearings will be closed to the public and all legal motions will be confidential...

Baltimore judge seals case as attorneys fight over release of Catholic church sex abuse report - The Baltimore Banner

Maryland, You're Up Next. Did Everyone See Netflix's The Keeper's? *** Report names 158 Catholic priests accused of abuse after investigation into Archdiocese of Baltimore

A 456-page report from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office identifies 158 Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse, including 43 that were never publicly identified by the Archdiocese of Baltimore, as part of a four-year investigation into the history of child sexual abuse by members of the clergy.

The investigation also identified more than 600 victims of sexual abuse, according to a new court filing.

The report itself, along with the names of the priests, is not yet public. The Attorney General’s Office disclosed some details in a court filing Thursday requesting permission to release documents that the Archdiocese provided in response to a grand jury subpoena...

...“The Attorney General’s investigation uncovered pervasive sexual abuse amongst the priesthood and repeated failures by the Archdiocese to protect the children of Baltimore,” the office wrote. “Time and again, the Archdiocese chose the abuser over the abused, the powerful over the weak, and the adult over the child. Hundreds of Marylanders have suffered mentally and physically for decades because of the Archdiocese’s decisions.

“Now is the time for reckoning,” the filing continues. “Publicly airing the transgressions of the Church is critical to holding people and institutions accountable and improving the way sexual abuse allegations are handled going forward.”

The filing describes pervasive sexual abuse and a church that tried to cover up the problem. One congregation was assigned 11 sexually abusive priests over a span of 40 years, the document claims. Victims sometimes ended up reporting sexual abuse to members of the clergy who were themselves perpetrators...

...“We need to see the names of the perpetrators.” he said. “We need to hear the stories of the survivors. … That’s the only way, sometimes, you come forward. You say ‘I’m not the only one.'”  

This story will be updated...

MD report names 158 Catholic priests accused of abuse after investigation into Archdiocese of Baltimore (thedailyrecord.com)

Maryland attorney general’s investigation of child sexual abuse in Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore nears completion

The Maryland Attorney General’s Office’s four-year investigation into the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s history of child sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests is almost finished.

A spokesperson for Attorney General Brian Frosh told The Baltimore Sun the investigation is “nearing completion,” but declined to share details. A criminal investigator for the office, former FBI agent Richard Wolf, has contacted many abuse survivors in recent weeks to tell them the report is close to done.

In 2018, the office issued a grand jury subpoena to the archdiocese for records, and Archbishop William E. Lori told clergy the state was investigating. Ultimately, the archdiocese turned over more than 100,000 pages of documents to Wolf and Special Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Embry.

The attorney general’s report, when finalized, is expected to detail child sexual abuse going back more than 80 years.

It’s unclear whether the investigation will lead to criminal charges. There is no statute of limitations on felony crimes in Maryland, but for someone to be charged in an abuse case, what’s alleged to have happened must have been classified a crime at the time it was committed...

Maryland attorney general’s investigation of child sexual abuse in Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore nears completion (msn.com)

Churches defend clergy loophole, including in Maryland, in child sex abuse reporting

It was a frigid Sunday evening at the Catholic Newman Center in Salt Lake City when the priest warned parishioners who had gathered after Mass that their right to private confessions was in jeopardy.

A new law would break that sacred bond, the priest said, and directed the parishioners to sign a one-page form letter on their way out. “I/We Oppose HB90,” began the letter, stacked next to pre-addressed envelopes. “HB90 is an improper interference of the government into the practice of religion in Utah.”

In the following days of February 2020, Utah’s Catholic diocese, which oversees dozens of churches, says it collected some 9,000 signed letters from parishioners and sent them to state Rep. Angela Romero, a Democrat who had been working on the bill as part of her campaign against child sexual abuse. HB90 targeted Utah’s “clergy-penitent privilege,” a law similar to those in many states that exempts clergy of all denominations from the requirement to report child abuse if they learn about the crime in a confessional setting.

Utah’s Catholic leaders had mobilized against HB90 arguing that it threatened the sacred privacy of confessions. More importantly, it met with disapproval from some members in the powerful Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known as the Mormon church, whose followers comprise the vast majority of the state Legislature. HB90 was dead on arrival.

In 33 states, including Maryland, clergy are exempt from any laws requiring professionals such as teachers, physicians and psychotherapists to report information about alleged child sexual abuse to police or child welfare officials if the church deems the information privileged...

...In Maryland a successful campaign to defeat a proposal that would have closed the clergy-penitent loophole was led by a Catholic cardinal who would later be defrocked for sexually abusing children and adult seminarians...

...In 2003, as the Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal swept the nation, a bill seeking to rid Maryland of the privilege in child abuse cases evoked a strong rebuke from Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, then the powerful archbishop of the Diocese of Washington, D.C.

“If this bill were to pass, I shall instruct all priests in the Archdiocese of Washington who serve in Maryland to ignore it,” McCarrick wrote in a Catholic Standard column. “On this issue, I will gladly plead civil disobedience and willingly — if not gladly — go to jail.”

The bill withered under McCarrick’s attack and never emerged from committee. Similar legislation proposed in 2004 suffered the same fate. Today, the clergy-penitent privilege in Maryland remains intact, even though McCarrick has been defrocked for sex crimes...

Churches defend clergy loophole in child sex abuse reporting (msn.com)

@Willcsmithjr @jwaldstreicher Public Testimony From Abbie Fitzgerald Schaub of the Emmy Nominated Netflix Documentary "The Keepers" - Not Allowed at Virtual Hearing @SenatorSusanLee

Below is one of the public statements that Maryland State Senator Will Smith, Chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, did not allow to be delivered in person at the February 2, 2021, public hearing on Senate Bill 134. 

Testimony in Support of SB0134 
Civil Actions - Child Sexual Abuse - Definition and Statute of 
Limitations 
** Support** 
To: Hon. Chairman William Smith Jr., Vice Chair Jeff Waldstreicher and 
members of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee 
From: Abbie Fitzgerald Schaub, with Baltimore’s Archbishop Keough High 
School “The Keepers” Netflix documentary storytellers
Date: January 6, 2021 
 
In 2013 I began a private effort doing historical research into the
the unsolved 1969 Baltimore murder of my high school English teacher, 
Sister Catherine Cesnik. This evolved into the tragic story of sexual abuse 
of minor aged students at Archbishop Keough High School. The Emmy 
nominated Netflix documentary “The Keepers” tells our story. I had no
understanding of the lifelong damage done by this intimate betrayal of
trust. I thought it was like getting spanked - was something bad that you 
got over. I was very wrong about that. This betrayal of trust and intimate 
physical invasion creates permanent collateral damage that affects people 
their entire lives, and rolls over into harming relationships for generations 
within a family. Sexual abuse of a minor causes not just physical and 
mental difficulties but also takes a financial toll on those harmed. Under 
current Maryland SOL law, the people harmed have to bear those costs.

Trying to make sense of our Keepers story, I looked further into the
institutional systems that are supposed to protect Maryland children. It 
was clear that our Keepers’ Father A Joseph Maskell sexually abused at 
least scores of children over his life, likely hundreds, both boys and girls. 
He was sexually abusing young adolescent boys while in the seminary at 
St. Mary’s in the early 1960s and continued to abuse both boys and girls 
for over three decades in Baltimore. We have multiple anecdotal reports 
that his abuse was reported to Keough school administrators and to the 
Archdiocese of Baltimore [AOB], though the AOB says they have no 
documents in their files to confirm this. Maryland allows criminal 
prosecution of felony sex offenses as long as the defendant is alive - but Baltimore City Assistant State’s Attorney Sharon May declined to charge 
Father Maskell in 1995, despite scores of criminal complaints and dozens 
of people willing to testify. Maskell fled from the US to Ireland to avoid that 
Baltimore civil motions hearing. The 1995 hearing ended with the civil case 
dismissed because of SOL age limits, allowing him to be free to abuse 
more youngsters in Ireland before returning to Baltimore.

 
There are other local hidden predators who are known but never criminally 
charged. There are also multiple clergy abusers from other states sent to 
Maryland to live, for example at a Jesuit retirement home in Baltimore and 
an Oblate retirement home in Childs, Maryland. Hundreds, perhaps 
thousands of abusers from around the US and around the world have lived at a facility in Montgomery County (St. Luke Institute) while being evaluated/treated with no notice to anyone. The abusers live protected, not on any registries, no notification of law enforcement or the community, 
with no legal restrictions on their contact with Maryland children.

 
The problem is not just with religious organizations, though that is what I
am most familiar with from our story. Abuse of minors within religious 
settings is the minority statistically; far more children are harmed by family 
members, acquaintances, teachers, sport coaches, even strangers. 
SB0134 is not targeted at churches - rather it is a global child safety bill, 
aimed to protect Maryland children from hidden predators in all settings.

I most often hear objections to removing SOL age caps based on the idea 
that those who were harmed should come forward promptly to report the 
crime. This makes sense to those of us not harmed. Those who were 
harmed do not want to speak of it; they are embarrassed, ashamed, blame 
themselves and think others will blame them if they speak. Many were 
threatened to be silent, as our Keough survivors were. They fear retribution 
by the one who harmed them, and do not want their parents or families to 
know. A 2014 German study showed that one third of those sexually 
assaulted as children will never speak of it. One third do speak around the 
time of injury - but are often told to keep it secret or are not believed. The 
final third do speak later in their adult lives, with the average age of 
disclosure at 52 years old. People are ready to speak as older adults, 
some waiting until their parents have died - but the criminal judicial system 
will not press charges, and Maryland abuse survivors are age barred from 
using the civil judiciary system. The hidden predators remain in communities - passing screening to work with children. Maryland’s SOL 
time restrictions protect sexual abusers, allowing them to do more harm.

 
The Maryland Constitution’s Declaration of Rights, Article 19, promises 
that “That every man, for any injury done to him in his person or property, 
ought to have remedy by the course of the Law of the Land, and ought to 
have justice and right, freely without sale, fully without any denial, and
speedily without delay, according to the Law of the Land“. I believe
statute of limitation laws deny those sexually abused as children
from having that promised remedy for the injury. They are promised
remedy “fully without any denial” - yet now in Maryland, purely because
of their age, they are denied access to the civil court system.

 SB0134, the Hidden Predator Act, addresses these issues: 
1) Removes the term “statute of repose” that was inserted quietly into the 
2017 law without required explanation or discussion. This is a 
construction based term that capped the time limit for civil lawsuits for 
construction defects at 20 years. They added 20 years to age of 
majority 18 to arrive at current cap of age 38. Building a house is 
entirely different than raping a child. This term has to be removed to 
make other SOL age cap revisions. 
2) Abolishes SOL time caps going forward for sexual abuse of minors; 
that means those who are 38 or younger no longer will have age caps 
to file civil suits. Those 39 and older are still time barred. 
3) Opens a defined two year window of time during which those older 
than 38 with allegations of sexual abuse in Maryland as a minor can file 
civil lawsuits. This will allow them to obtain documents that may help 
prove their case which they now are barred from seeing. Sixteen states 
and DC have passed look back windows or revival laws. 
4) A severability amendment was added to the bill in 2020. If a portion is 
ruled illegal, the remainder of the bill can still become law. 

I respectfully urge the Committee to issue a favorable report on SB0134 
without any other amendments. Let lessons from our painful legacy allow 
other Maryland children to be better protected from sexual predators.

 
-Abbie Fitzgerald Schaub, resident of Maryland District 13.

WMAR: Senator William Smith [Montgomery County] is the chairman for the Judicial proceeding committee. The bill has died or failed in that committee since 2017. We asked the senator for an interview before the session started, left our number with his staff member and never heard back. .@Willcsmithjr

 

Push for civil suit sex abuse reform in Annapolis

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Several people gathered on Lawyer's Mall to get the attention of law makers to end the statue of limitations for civil trials for lawsuits of sexual abuse...

The current law only allows a person to file a suit up to the age of 38 and they must do it before October of 2023. Robb says that stacks the deck against victims because the trauma may be suppressed for decades.

...Senator William Smith is the chairman for the Judicial proceeding committee. The bill has died or failed in that committee since 2017. We asked the senator for an interview before the session started, left our number with his staff member and never heard back.

"Maskell was a known abuser since the time he was in the seminary"

You may remember Teresa Lancaster. In the documentary The Keepers, Lancaster claimed Father Joseph Maskell abused her and hundreds of others over decades at Archbishop Kehough. Lancaster also has a book coming out recounting her times at Archbishop Kehough called "Safe in Socks"...

...The bill has been stuck in Smith's committee since February 2nd...

https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/push-for-civil-suit-sex-abuse-reform-in-annapolis?fbclid=IwAR085Bqz4foYGTNLrryNf2k_c1Df-vICpwtVXD3GpNNbz3Ee9LxADoVWDbo

Will You Stand With Us? Support the Hidden Predator Act MD Senate Bill 134. 50+ organizations agree it’s time for the Senate to vote YES to Hidden Predator Act (SB134) without amendments! @Willcsmithjr @jwaldstreicher @SenatorSusanLee

The Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD supports the Hidden Predator Act.  

Will YOU Stand With Us? 

We stand united behind SB134 with over 50 faith-based, professional, non-profit, business, research and advocacy groups who have added their organizational support to this legislation.

It’s time for the Senate to vote YES to SB134 without amendments!
https://youtu.be/0v58y1FqEus

TAKE ACTION:

Email to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Chair, Senator Will Smith (Montgomery County) and Co-Chair Senator Jeff Waldstreicher (Montgomery County) and share your organizations support of the legislation, a copy of the organizational letter of support is attached. Let them know that it is time for this bill to come for a vote in the committee.
will.smith@senate.state.md.us; jeff.waldstreicher@senate.state.md.us

If you have questions regarding the bill or would like additional data points in support of the legislation please visit our grassroots partner’s website www.Justice4MDsurvivors.org

Senate Bill 134: Maryland is poised to make great strides toward justice for survivors of childhood sexual abuse, their healing, the prevention of future abuse, and the ability to hold accountable individual perpetrators and institutions that might have facilitated them. Will you stand with us?

Find out how to advocate for Maryland Senate Bill 134 at this link.   

Senate_Hidden Predator Act ... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

NMSC SCCAN Infographic 2021HiddenPredatorAct (19) by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

Md Sol One-pager 12.18.20 by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

.@SenatorSusanLee Comment on Your Bill: "psychiatrists who treat pedophiles have looked for a backdoor way to reinstate it. They have found it in SB 568/HB 787 (your bill).

Oppose SB 568/HB 787 Crimes - Child Abuse and Neglect - Failure to Report

Submitted by Ellen Mugmon

March 27, 2019

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

No State or the Federal Government Has a Law Like This

The purpose of SB 568/HB 787, as amended, is to take the child abuse reporting penalty issue off everyone’s plate and at the same time protect from accountability powerful professional groups and institutions by establishing an impossible evidentiary standard under Maryland law, ”actual knowledge,” and secondly, by overruling a significant 1993 Attorney General’s opinion that requires the reporting of child abuse after the victim turns eighteen. See Md. Op. Atty. Gen. 189 (Dec. 3, 1993). The bills also have a one year statute of limitations, which means that if the failure to report is not found out by authorities within a year, there could not be a prosecution.

Then Attorney General Curran stated the following: “If we accept the proposition that no reporting were required if the victim is now an adult, we would be saying that there would be no duty to report if an eighteen year old had been subject to recent abuse and had younger siblings at home in the care of the abuser. That would be an untenable construction of the statute, one that we cannot imagine the General Assembly intended.”

As the Baltimore City State’s Attorney noted in her written testimony in 2018 on SB 132/ HB 500, the same bill as SB 568/HB 787, except for the penalty: “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.”

Requiring “actual knowledge” of the abuse before a mandatory reporter could be prosecuted for failure to report it is a higher standard of knowledge than beyond a reasonable doubt. Jurors do not need to witness a crime as it is occuring in order convict an individual for committing it.

Thus, this bill is NOT a compromise as proponents claim. It is NOT a small step forward either. Rather, it is a complete and harmful capitulation to the Maryland Catholic Conference and powerful professional groups which once and for all want to end the pressure to bring Maryland law into the mainstream with legislation that that could actually result in convictions.

To argue about the differences in a penalty that will never be applied egregiously misses the point. The Committee has a moral obligation to acknowledge all the defects in this bill and then reject it.

Those Who Don’t Know History Are Doomed To Repeat It.

The Maryland Catholic Conference has for 26 years attempted, whenever the opportunity arose, to get out from under 78Md. Op. Atty. Gen. 189 (Dec. 3, 1993). In the face of this third explosion of the horrific clergy abuse scandal, it would be unconscionable for the Committee to agree to the restrictions in this bill, which would be unique to Maryland.

While the Committee should be commended for voting favorably on HB 687, which remediates a statute which was supposed to remediate the previous statute of limitations law, it is understood that it is not likely to make it out of the Senate. The passage of SB 568/HB 787 will be another slap in the face to the survivors who supported that bill and equally oppose this one.

After the SOL bill was enacted during the 2017 session, the press, advocates and survivors mistakenly hailed its passage. They did not realize that the extension of the time period to allow a suit to be filed was meaningless because the bill had been drafted behind the scenes to make it impossible for survivors to prevail.

It would be wrong for any legislator to claim a so called victory for child protection, should this bill pass, knowing full well that it is unworkable and that the “[i]nclusion of subsection (c) in proposed Crim. L. 3-602.2 could well be read by the courts to mean that the General Assembly has now taken a policy view counter to that of the of the A.G.’s Opinion-- that reporting when an identified victim has reached the age of majority is unimportant. Such a reading would leave at risk innumerable children in an abusers sphere.” (Professor Lynn Mclain, February 26, 2018)

Since the notorious Berlin pedophile exemption (unique to Maryland) was repealed in 1989, psychiatrists who treat pedophiles have looked for a backdoor way to reinstate it. They have found it in SB 568/HB 787. Disclosures by pedophiles do not meet the “actual knowledge” standard, the highest form of knowledge in law. Pedophiles do not rape children in front of those providing treatment to them. In the pre-1993 handling of his cases, Dr. Berlin refused to report when a relative molested his niece because she was nineteen even though she had a younger sister at risk. This bill would not penalize him if he did so again

Attorney General Frosh is currently investigating the Catholic Church in Maryland. Why is this Committee jumping the gun to provide new protections from accountability for the hierarchy when it fails to report? The Committee should not rely on Bishop Lori’s reforms, which call for parishioners to report child sexual abuse to the Church, first and foremost, rather than to the authorities. Setting up internal investigations prior to reporting to determine credibility by the Church’s own standards, thereby compromising police and social services investigations, is a self serving procedure which will not lead to the truth. Bishop Lori, while usurping governmental functions in plain sight, is supporting these bills.

None of the Penn State officials convicted of failing to report Sandusky to authorities could have been convicted in Maryland under the “actual knowledge” standard in this bill. None of them had “actual knowledge” of Sandusky’s abuse. That is why this bill is a pretense.

The Congressional bipartisan federal law enacted after the USA Gymnastics scandal states: "When a mandatory reporter learns of facts that give reason to suspect that a child has suffered an incident of child abuse ... and fails to make a timely report as required by subsection(a) of that section, [the mandatory reporter] shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than year or both."

Why should it be that Maryland children in USA Gymnastics programs are better protected than all other Maryland children under SB 568/HB 787?

Without the 1993 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 concedes this point in its response to the Keepers on its website. (See also in this regard: “Catholic Officials Knew of Teacher’s Abuse, Court Files Indicate,” by Tricia Bishop, The Baltimore Sun, November, 25, 2012 and“U-Md. Lawyers Didn’t Tell Police That Swim Coach Rick Curl Had Abused a Teen Girl,” by Amy Brittain, The Baltimore Sun, May 29, 2013.

Scandals in Maryland now include the cover-ups and failure to report by the Catholic Church, the ongoing scandals in the Montgomery County Schools, the Ron Price scandal in Anne Arundel County, the Deonte Carraway scandal in Prince George’s County, and more recently the scandal in the Baltimore Orthodox Jewish Community. These scandals will continue until there are successful prosecutions for failure to report, which cannot happen under this legislation.

Do Not invoke the #MeToo Movement in Support of This Bill

Proponents claim that SB 568/HB 787 is in line with the goals of #MeToo which are to increase the power of victims to be believed, to increase the protection of women and children, and to expand the possibility of justice. But this legislation is actually antithetical to the movement because it would automatically discount disclosures of abuse by child and adult victims alike, since these disclosures most assuredly would not meet the “actual knowledge” standard.

Absolutely no one, especially Rachael Denhollander, an activist and survivor of Larry Nassar’s whom proponents invoke, nor any other of the more than 250 victims of the USA Gymnastics scandal, would ever consider coming to Maryland to testify for such a backward bill. Ms. Denhollander was the first victim to come forward publicly. She was 31-years-old when she disclosed her victimization when she was 15-years-old. A mandated reporter under this bill could say that she was too old to require a report and that her disclosure did not provide the requisite “actual knowledge,” either.

It is appalling that SB 568/HB 787 mirrors provisions in the USA Gymnastics’ policy which caused the decades long cover-up of a terrible scandal. Steve Penny, the former director of USA Gymnastics, did not report the abuse because he deemed disclosures by victims and even allegations by other coaches as second or third hand information which did not prove to him that the abuse actually occurred. Moreover, his investigator stated that she did not report complaints by gymnasts who had turned eighteen because they were no longer children. It did not matter that they were children when they were abused or that other children were in the hands of a prolific 54-year-old pedophile. What mattered was the policy which protected the reputation of the organization.

Sending The Wrong Message - Undermining Maryland’s Reporting Law

Proponents insist that the bill would not undermine the underlying civil reporting law since the language of the civil reporting law would not be changed. This is false. Two reporting standards muddy the obligation to report suspected abuse and complicate and confuse training. Because there would be no criminal penalty based on the "reason to believe" standard, why would mandatory reporters follow the civil law, especially those not subject to professional penalties? Consequently, this bill would delay or have an overall chilling effect on reporting. It would encourage reporters to wait until they knew for sure that abuse has occurred or eventually fail to report at all. It would also encourage administrators such as those in Montgomery County continue to keep secret lists of possible perpetrators and perform internal investigations prior to reporting instead of reporting immediately. This endangers children.

Child Protection Lip Service

Supporters of this bill are up front. They admit that the bill is intended to protect mandatory reporters. They state that the bill “would be the most lenient toward adults, i.e. mandatory reporters, than any other law in the entire United States or its territories.” During a meeting prior to the session, it was stated that the Committee in 2018 had concerns about the “actual knowledge” language and it was out for this session. Why must we now accept the nonsensical mantra from proponents that something is better than nothing, when this legislation is worse than nothing?

Mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect is the very foundation of the child protection system. But this bill is so flawed that if it were enacted, the safety and protection of children would be compromised far more than it is under current law. For these reasons, I request 568/HB 787 be given an unfavorable report. 

Oppose SB 568 HB 787 Ellen ... by on Scribd

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.

WUSA9 Maryland delegates consider statute of limitations and child sex abuse case

WASHINGTON — Advocates and child sex abuse survivors will stand before members of the Maryland House of Delegates on Thursday to testify. The judiciary committee will have a bill before them that would remove the statute of limitations for all child sex abuse cases.

Currently, Maryland law says a victim has until age 38 to file a civil lawsuit. However, those who are older than 25 when they come forward must prove gross negligence, which is something notoriously difficult to prove.

Maryland Delegate C.T. Wilson of Charles County was part of the negotiations for the current law and has sponsored the proposed bill. The delegate has been open about the sexual abuse he experienced as a child.

“I don’t believe [38-years-old] is enough time. That was a negotiation I had with the Catholic Church at the time, as well as the gross negligence, and I’m not negotiating anymore,” said Wilson.

Delegate Wilson says House Bill 687, which will be before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday for a hearing, would remove the statute of limitations. 

The bill would make it so a child sex abuse victim could file a lawsuit no matter their age. Wilson is also adding what’s called a “two-year look back window” to include anyone precluded by the statute of limitations...

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/maryland-delegates-consider-statute-of-limitations-and-child-sex-abuse-case/65-c37c22e1-ebe9-4d18-ab06-3200a2cd4c4c

Call to End Statute of Limitations on Sex Abuse Cases in Pennsylvania

At a Capitol rally, state Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, invited victims, survivors and relatives of victims of child sex abuse to call on lawmakers and influential power brokers to get behind legislation on ending the statute of limitations on sex abuse cases. June 12, 2018...
...Teresa Lancaster speaks at the rally. Lancaster is one of the subjects of Netflix's "The Keepers." At a Capitol rally, state Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, invited victims, survivors and relatives of victims of child sex abuse to call on lawmakers and influential power brokers to get behind legislation on ending the statute of limitations on sex abuse cases...

https://www.pennlive.com/expo/news/erry-2018/06/c872dd04fd3670/index.html