David Lorenz, Maryland Director for the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests speaks at a sidewalk press conference outside of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Baltimore, on Nov. 16, 2020. Maryland lawmakers are considering ending Maryland’s statutes of limitations on when lawsuits against institutions can be filed for child sex exploitation.
Victims who support the measure plan to testify on Thursday, February 23, 2023 at a hearing in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. (AP Photo/Peter Smith)Peter Smith
Adults, who testified that they were sexually abused by institutions as children, urged Maryland lawmakers to end the state’s statute of limitations on civil lawsuits filed against institutions for child sexual abuse.
Dr. Frank Schindler told legislators the measure was both a moral issue and a civil right issue. He testified that he had been sexually abused as a kindergartener aged 5 in 1954 by a Catholic priest.
“It will send a powerful message to all survivors and abusers that the gross violations of the children’s right to not be abused in Maryland will no longer be tolerable, no matter how powerful that abuser is,” said Schindler.
Schindler is a 73-year old psychologist and a Maryland chapter member of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
Carolyn Surrick, a woman who testified at the hearing about abuse she suffered at age 13 by two teachers at Key School in Annapolis, Maryland in the 1970s told lawmakers that it was not up to them who should be held responsible.
Surrick said, “You need to make sure that we can have our day in the court.”
In Maryland, people who claim they were sexually abused when they were children cannot sue after they reach the age 38. In recent years, the Maryland House approved legislation that would have lifted this age limit. However, it was blocked by the state Senate.
Will Smith, the state senator who chairs the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee is sponsoring this year a bill to end the age restriction. In an interview, he said that he is confident that the bill will be passed this year, but that the courts will likely have the final word.
Smith, a Democrat said, “I’ve been working with the advocates since summer and I’m confident that we’ll be able to produce a quality product, but there are some serious questions and concerns.” “The courts will determine a lot of the final outcome.” I suspect it will be contested, if and once we pass the bill.
Kathryn Robb is the executive director of Child USAdvocacy. A nonprofit that advocates better laws to protect kids, she testified that 15 state have lifted their statutes of limitation for child sexual abuse. Robb said that 24 states have approved revival periods, also known as “lookback window” which are limited timeframes during which accusers may sue, no matter how long ago an alleged abuse took place.
The measure would include caps on damages. A person could receive up to $1.5 Million for injuries sustained in a single incident, if the entity is private or non-profit. For a government agency, the limit would be $850,000.
In written testimony, Maryland Catholic Conference which represents three dioceses in the state opposed the bill. They said that the elimination of civil statutes of limitations retroactively raises serious equity concerns, and is especially unnecessary in Maryland which does not have criminal statutes of limitations for cases involving child sexual abuse.
The conference stated in its testimony that “while there is no financial compensation which can ever rectify any harm done to a victim of sexual abuse, it cannot be ignored the devastating impact the retroactive window provision could have by exposing both public and private institutions – and the communities that they serve – to unsubstantiated allegations of abuse.”
Maryland raised its age limit for accusers to file lawsuits in 2017 from 25 to 38. The law also included a clause, called a statute or repose, which some claim prevents lawmakers from increasing the statute of limitations.
In Maryland, the issue has gained more attention after an investigation by Maryland’s Attorney General identified 158 Roman Catholic Priests in the Archdiocese Baltimore who were accused of sexually or physically abusing over 600 victims in the past 80 years.
Court records made public in Novembre revealed that the investigation was conducted by the state attorney general. The full report of the investigation, which began last year, has not yet been made public.
The report must be approved by the court before it can be made public, as it contains information obtained from grand jury subpoenas. The court has not yet made a decision.
