Abuse cases warrant special time limit

Description: Discovery of childhood sexual abuse scars can take years.

Article originally prepared on : 18 March 2007

State Sen. Gary Kubly, DFL-Granite Falls, is also the Rev. GaryKubly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In that latterrole, he's been a pastoral counselor to two adults whose behavioral andpsychological problems can be traced to sexual abuse they experiencedas a child.

"Thiskind of abuse has a hugely traumatic effect," Kubly said. "It's fairlycommon that the victims don't come to grips with the damage it's doneuntil much later in life, as much as 30 years later."

Minnesotastatutes once acknowledged those two unique characteristics ofchildhood sexual abuse -- that it leaves deep scars on the developinghuman psyche, and that the source of those scars is often slow to berecognized by troubled adults. The law should again reflect thatreality. This year, the Legislature should reinstate a special statuteof limitations for delayed discovery of damages caused by childhoodsexual abuse.

From 1989 until 1996, state law provided a six-yearstatute of limitations on lawsuits seeking civil damages from childmolesters. The six-year clock began running not when the incidentoccurred, but when it was discovered that the incident caused lastinginjury.

In 1996, the Minnesota Supreme Court reset the clock. Inwhat the original Senate sponsor of the law, former Sen. EmberReichgott Junge, says was a misinterpretation of legislative intent,the court said the time would run out for complaints of childhoodsexual abuse six years after the victim attained the age of majority --in other words, age 24.

When the judiciary misconstrueslegislative intent, the Legislature is often quick to reaffirm itsposition. But by 1997, the special statute of limitations for childhoodsexual abuse had acquired a powerful opponent -- the MinnesotaReligious Council, a multidenominational group that includes the localarchdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, an institution that has beenrocked by clergy sexual abuse scandals. Aggressive lobbying by thecouncil has kept a delayed discovery statute of limitations off thebooks.

This year, victims and their advocates have redoubledtheir effort to restore to civil law a recognition of the timingpeculiarity associated with childhood abuse. It would start the statuteof limitations clock running at the time of discovery of an injury.That time would be determined by a jury, based on professional medicalor psychological testimony. Existing penalties for frivolous suitswould fully apply. The burden of proof in such cases would be on theplaintiff; if the passage of time had destroyed records or crediblememories to support a complaint, the plaintiff's case would suffer.

Thatapproach has the backing of the Minnesota County Attorneys Association-- this state's criminal prosecutors. They say they need the help ofvictims' complaints in civil court to bring sexual pedophiles to light,and to justice.

It's a bit ironic, given the churches'opposition, that the delayed discovery bill's Senate sponsor is theRev. Kubly. He's taking the side of people who describe innocent livesturned upside down at the hands of molesters they should have been ableto trust. "I've had more calls about this than any other issue," hesaid. "These were tear-filled conversations, very sad stories.Something needs to be done to right these wrongs."

 

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