B’klyn pol: Child Vics? I’m confused

ALBANY — Sen. Martin Golden played dumb at a Wednesday night candidates forum over the Child Victims Act bill designed to help victims of child sex abuse seek justice as adults.

Asked if he’d support the measure, Golden (R-Brooklyn) acted like he’s never heard of it despite years of aggressive lobbying by victims and advocates, a Daily News crusade and his conference discussing it repeatedly over the past two years.

“What is the Child Victims, what are you talking about?” Golden (photo) asked the questioner, who said she was a child sex abuse survivor. “Ma’am, what happens is, there are so many definitions and so many pieces of legislation, I’m not sure which one you’re talking about.”

Golden’s Democratic opponent, Andrew Gounardes, said at the forum he supports the Child Victims Act and urged, “Marty, do your homework.”

Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan), prime sponsor of the Child Victims Act, didn’t attend the forum but called Golden’s comments “an insult to survivors and their families. Marty Golden is either not sharing the truth with his constituents or he’s not up to doing the job of senator any longer.”

Senate GOP spokeswoman Candice Giove said in recent years the governor and different members in the Assembly and Senate have had difference versions of the act.

“The fact is that so many versions of the Child Victims Act exist that Sen. Golden is right to ask for clarification from a constituent, and any attempt to sensationalize this is downright wrong,” Giove said.

While there are alternative bills to address dealing with adult survivors of child sex abuse, the one referred to by victims, advocates and Democratic legislators over the past year as the Child Victims Act is the one that would give victims more time to bring criminal and civil cases and create a one-year window to revive old cases that are time-barred under current law. The bill has been routinely blocked by the Senate GOP.