.
 |
|
NY State statute of limitations means charges will not be filed in Syracuse
by Chris Anderson
Vice President
MaleSurvivor.org
December 12, 2011 |
NEW YORK -- On December 7th, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick announced that Syracuse Assistant Coach Bernie Fine could not be prosecuted on charges that he raped children because New York State's Statue of Limitations had elapsed. Although authorities found the allegations of multiple victims, "credible," once again survivors have been denied the opportunity to hold their abuser accountable. Mr. Fitzpatrick expressed regret that nothing more could be done saying to one of the victims, "I wish I had met you as a prosecutor in 2002. I wish I had met you as a prosecutor in the 1980s."
It's a familiar sentiment. Thousands of victims have been denied the ability to confront their abusers and seek justice for the wrongs done to them as children. We at MaleSurvivor find little solace in the District Attorney's words, as welcome as it is to hear that he found their accusations believable. We agree with Professor Marci Hamilton of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law who has spoken eloquently on this matter:
.
| "The Syracuse abuse scandal has all the elements of the now-typical situation for child sex abuse survivors in the state of New York and many other states. Powerful men, including law enforcement, did too little when the first report was made several years ago, and other powerful men publicly attacked victims of rape for speaking the truth in order to protect their longtime friends, and the victims cannot go to court because New York law is inherently unjust. New York legislators know full well the consequences of their stingy statutes of limitations for child sex abuse. They know they have chosen to protect predators at the cost of children and child safety. Syracuse shows us one more time that statutes of limitations must be eliminated and that a window must be passed so that the countless victims in New York can identify the child predators among us and obtain some justice." |
We urge the New York State Legislature and Governor Andrew Cuomo to take notice of the horrible injustices suffered by the victims in this case and take action to right this wrong. 1 on 6 boys are the victims of sexual abuse in this country, and a large proportion of them are unable or unwilling to file charges against their abusers at the time precisely because they are children and not in a position to defend themselves. It can take years before a victim is prepared to come forward and begin the healing process. A legal system that remains willfully blind to this truth only serves to shield perpetrators and enables them to victimize more children. We may never know how many children people like Bernie Fine and Jerry Sandusky abused. But we know that unless the laws change, more children will be raped, abused, and silenced.
Please share your concern with Governor Cuomo by calling (518) 474-8390, or sending an email at
http://www.governor.ny.gov/contact/GovernorContactForm.php |
