New hope for child-vic law
ALBANY — A top state senator is set to introduce Thursday legislation she dubbed “a way forward” to finally making it easier for victims of child sex abuse to seek justice as adults.
Gary Greenberg, a vocal child-sex-abuse survivor who helped negotiate the bill with Sen. Catharine Young (R-Chautauqua County), hailed the measure as “a big step forward” while other advocates panned it.
The centerpiece of the legislation is the creation of a $300 million Child Victim Reconciliation and Compensation Fund that would be run out of the state controller’s office.
Rather than have individual abusers or institutions like the church, yeshivas, schools, the Boy Scouts of America, and the insurance companies pay the settlements, victims who no longer can bring lawsuits under current law would be eligible to seek restitution from the fund.
And future victims who don’t meet the legal time-frame would still be able to seek restitution from the fund, Young said.
“This is a solution that I think would advance the cause,” she said. “This is all about victims.”
No state taxpayer money would be used. Instead, the bill would take $300 million from the more than $700 million in asset forfeiture funds controlled by the Manhattan district attorney’s office that has to go toward criminal justice initiatives.
Under the proposal, the controller would appoint a compensation fund chief administrator.
Past child sex abuse complaints would go to the administrator, who would have the power to hire hearing officers with previous experience investigating, prosecuting, or defending child sex abuse allegations. If a case is found credible, the claims administrator would determine the amount of compensation, and information like such as the abuser’s name would be made public.
Greenberg, who this year hired a Republican lobbyist to help sway the Senate GOP, hailed the measure as “a big step forward.”
But advocate Marci Hamilton called the bill “an attempt to pay off the victims and shield the institutions.”