GOPer says she backs kid vics act

ALBANY — A Republican running in a critical state Senate special election in Westchester County says she supports a bill to make it easier for child sex abuse victims to seek justice as adults.

Julie Killian supports a version of the Child Victims Act that includes a one-year window to revive old cases that are time-barred under current law — a provision that Senate Republicans oppose.

“I believe that those who have molested and abused children should be punished to the fullest extent of the law and that victims deserve justice,” Killian said. “In the state Senate, bringing both sides together to get this done will be one of my top priorities.”

But the support of one or a few Republicans isn’t enough for a number of child sex abuse survivors and advocates, who believe the only way the bill will make it to the floor for a vote is if the Democrats take control of the chamber.

Many child sex abuse survivors are throwing their support behind Killian's Democratic opponent in the April 24 special election, Assemblywoman Shelley Meyer.

They say the problem isn’t with individual lawmakers, but the fact that the Senate Republican leadership, notably Majority Leader John Flanagan, has for years refused to allow the Child Victims Act to the floor for a vote.

Gary Greenberg, an investor and child sex abuse survivor, calls the upcoming special election “a referendum on the Child Victims Act.”