States making it easier for victims to report childhood clergy abuse
- Some states have passed windowing laws to allow victims to sue years later
- The laws apply to molesters and institutions that covered up abuse
- The average age to report childhood sexual abuse is 52
FILE – This Dec. 1, 2012 file photo shows a silhouette of a crucifix and a stained glass window inside a Catholic Church in New Orleans. On Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, a Louisiana state grand jury charged a now-91-year-old disgraced priest, Lawrence Hecker, with sexually assaulting a teenage boy in 1975, an extraordinary prosecution that could shed new light on what Roman Catholic Church leaders knew about a child sex abuse crisis that persisted for decades and claimed hundreds of victims. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
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(NewsNation) — As the nation learns more about the process of coming forward in sexual assault cases, a growing number of states are changing laws to give survivors more time to report crimes and sue their attackers.
For every 1,000 sexual assaults, 975 offenders go free, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.
The changing laws may be a game changer for victims of clergy abuse in America. As more time passes, alleged victims are finding their voice and telling their stories of survival.
This article mentions sexual assault. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673.
“Procession” is a new documentary available to stream in millions of homes across America. It’s also a film that likely would not have existed a decade ago.
”It couldn’t have been made 10 years ago, it couldn’t have been made maybe seven years ago, right,” said filmmaker Robert Greene.
Tune in to watch “Sanctuary of Sin” on Sunday at 9ET/8CT as Marni Hughes and WGN’s Larry Potash dig into scandals that rocked the Catholic Church and a little-known compound in middle America that houses accused abusers all these years later.
The film documents six Midwestern men as they join a new wave of survivors publicly sharing childhood memories of abuse they endured at the hands of Catholic clergy.
“Michael wants to show you, the way the rituals were enacted, and how the rituals in the church led directly to the power structures that led to the abuse by the priests. Another guy, Mike wants to show you how this independent review board that ultimately deemed his very, very credible case to be to like, credibility, how that works out,” Greene said.
Greene spotlighted Kansas City long before a 2023 report by investigators found four Catholic dioceses in Kansas not only had priests who abused children for a span of 50 years, but also helped cover up the crimes.
“When you’re abused at that age, there’s a sense, the shame that you take on the shame that is that you are put it’s put on you to be very clear, it’s put on you by the abusers, by the system that enabled that abuse,” Greene said. “That shame is what creates silence, and it creates generations of silence.”
The culture of silence means the average age people reveal childhood sexual abuse is 52.
Stefan Turkheimer, vice president of policy for RAINN, said only 25 to 30% of of all victims come forward.
“A lot of times with sexual assault, the offender who commits the sexual assault is in a position of power and influence over the survivor,” he said.
RAINN tracks states that have eliminated the statute of limitations for all felony sex crimes. So far, just seven have taken the step.
“There’s a number of states that still have very short statute, some as short as three years, five years, six years, for sexual assault or rape,” Turkheimer said. “And a lot of times it takes longer for the person to come forward, it takes even longer sometimes for the prosecution to be able to build a case. It takes longer sometimes for the DNA to even get tested.”
Legislation known as “look back laws” allow a window for victims to sue molesters and institutions that hid or ignored the abuse.
Several states have opened and already closed such windows for civil lawsuits. Others, including Arkansas, Kansas and Maryland have new civil windows going into effect.
“Lengthening that period of time, allows more survivors to find justice,” Turkheimer said. “But it also protects other people, because so many sexual offenders are repeat offenders. This is giving an opportunity to end that abuse and that sexual assault for someone else.”
Joe Edred, a participant in the documentary, talked about how he took charge of his story by working with the filmmakers.
”If there had been a documentary like this back in 2011, it would’ve been so helpful for me personally to have a template, to see other guys go through this and survive. And not just survive, but start to thrive,” Eldred said.
His journey is still impacting people’s lives.
”Realizing you had the same priest that was caught at my church, and he was sent to my church, where he got me, and now we have this very sickening connection. It still kind of pulled you closer and you were no longer alone,” Eldred said about hearing other victim’s stories.
Greene said he was greatly impacted by the victims who shared their stories.
”I’m just living a different life since making the film. And that’s because I consider these guys heroes,” he said.
In addition to Arkansas, Kansas and Maryland, eight other states have new statute of limitations laws going into effect this year.
