Lawmaker Will Try Again to Pass Child Victims Act

Tag: usa

MADISON, Wis. (WTAQ) - A Wisconsin senator says she’ll try again next year to help bring justice to victims of child sex abuse. Stevens Point Democrat Julie Lassa was a main sponsor of the Child Victims Act that died when the legislative session ended last week.

It would have removed the statute of limitations for victims of child sex abuse to file civil suits.

Story Continues below



Right now, the current age limit is 35 – but Lassa and others say many victims are not able to deal with their attacks until much later in life. This was the second time the measure was introduced, and Lassa said it got further in the process than the first time, because lawmakers held public hearings on it.

Catholic Church leaders, including new Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki, testified against the measure. La Crosse Diocese attorney Jim Birnbaum says everyone agrees that perpetrators must be brought to justice. But if this bill passes, he says the state should also do away with the sovereign immunity law which prohibits or limits damages in cases involving public employees.

Lassa calls that a bogus argument which basically says, “If we can’t catch all pedophiles, then we shouldn’t catch any.” She said the removal of the statute of limitations would apply in all abuse cases, private or public.

Tag: statute_of_limitations

http://www.wtaq.com/news/articles/201...ctims-act/