The Remarks Of Speaker Sheldon Silver

Press Conference Unveiling Assembly Bill A-8705
Extending The Statute Of Limitations In Child Sexual Assault Cases

Speaker's Conference Room
Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver holds news conference to urge the state Senate to pass legislation approved by the Assembly earlier this year to extend the statute of limitations for victims of child sexual assault. From left: Assembly Judiciary Committee Chair Helene Weinstein and Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, a bill sponsor, joined Silver and representatives of the Voice of the Faithful, an organization seeking justice for victims and the protection of children. Audio Excerpt 1 (26 seconds) Audio Excerpt 2 (22 seconds) View Transcript

Yesterday, we in the Assembly overwhelmingly passed Assembly Bill 11283-A, legislation which eliminates both the criminal and civil statute of limitations for major sex crimes.

Today, my colleagues and I are gathered here to call upon the Senate to pass Assembly 8705, to extend the statute of limitations in child sexual assault cases.

Both bills are part of our tough and comprehensive "Child Safety and Sexual Predator Punishment and Confinement Strategy," which we announced in December of last year.

As you can see, there are a number of Assembly Leaders standing in support of this legislation.

You will be hearing from the prime sponsor, Assembly Member Margaret Markey, in a few moments. You will also be hearing from the Chairman of the Codes Committee, Assembly Member Joe Lentol.

We are also joined by several important guests who came here to speak in support of our legislation. They are:

• Ann Liske, representing the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault;

• Kevin Conners, member of the board and treasurer of the Long Island Voice of the Faithful;

• And Mark Lyman, Capital Region Leader of The Survivors' Network of those Abused by Priests.

Sexual assault ranks high on the list of the most vile and utterly despicable acts of violence that one person can perpetrate upon another. The sexual assault of a child reaches a level of abomination no words can possibly express.

As a father and as a grandfather, I thoroughly despise those who take advantage of the weak, the trusting, the vulnerable and the unwitting, in order to satisfy their addiction to violence and violation.

Like all parents, I have my own thoughts about how we should punish those predators who rob our children of their innocence and leave them with never-ending pain and injury.

Assembly Codes Committee Chair Joseph Lentol also participated in the news conference, telling reporters the Senate needs to pass the bill to ensure that victims of child sexual assault can seek justice for the unspeakable crimes committed against them.

As legislators, we are obligated by law to ensure that the punishment fits the crime.

We believe that we are equally obligated to help the victims of sexual assault achieve the justice to which they are entitled.

Unfortunately, many child victims can not or will not discuss - let alone report - the abuses they have endured.

It's easy to talk tough after a crime has been committed. That's a popular ploy, and the media loves it.

It is no less important to address the needs of the victims. That is what we're trying to accomplish with these two bills.

The legislation we passed yesterday - a very important bill sponsored by Assembly Member Amy Paulin -- prospectively eliminates the criminal and civil statute of limitations in sexual assault cases. That bill would apply only to cases where the statute of limitations had not yet expired.

We have urged the Senate to join us in an immediate conference committee concerning that bill since they have passed a measure which would prospectively eliminate the criminal statute of limitations, but not the civil statute of limitations.

The bill we are here to talk about today addresses a different issue, one that, unfortunately, the Senate has not chosen to address in any form.

Assembly Member Markey's bill addresses the issue of persons who were sexually assaulted in the past, sometimes, many years ago.

This bill provides a one-year window during which survivors of child sexual assault - whose claims are now "time barred" because of the running of the statute of limitations - can bring a civil cause of action against their abusers.

The Assembly has already passed this legislation twice.

Our State Constitution says that we cannot re-open these cases for criminal prosecution. We can, however, reopen them for civil claims.

We can give the survivors of those horrific acts their day in court.

We can give them vindication even though many years have passed.

We must do so.

We call upon the Senate today to act on the full range of statute of limitation issues that the Assembly has already acted on.

Members of the Senate, I urge you to join us in a conference committee on the Paulin Bill to prospectively eliminate the statute of limitations.

Let's start the conference committees today.

And please, consider the pleas of the sexual assault survivors who are here today.

They have opened their hearts to us. We must open our hearts and our minds to them.

We owe them a measure of justice, no matter how long they have gone without it. So let's stop the tough talk and start enacting the toughest penalties that we can.

To borrow a line from my colleague, Assembly Member Deborah Glick, "If you commit the crime, you should do the time, and pay the dime."

Governor, Members of the Senate, there is no excuse for protecting the wallets of rapists!

The victims of sexual assault deserve our best efforts.

Let's hammer out the necessary legislation and let's get it signed into law as quickly as possible. Too much time has already passed.