Amy Welborn points to this NCR article about efforts to oppose a Colorado bill, or rather certain language in a bill, that eliminates the statute of limitations for child-sex-abuse lawsuits --- for some institutions that perpetrate the abuse of children.
Why so much opposition? Because it exempts public schools.
According to the article, when a 17-year-old boy began his testimony about how the former president of the Estes Park, Colorado public school board molested him, the panel chairman (Sen. Ron Tupa, a Boulder Democrat) walked out. And the other committee members interrupted the teenager, until he was finally ordered to stop giving his statement.
This is rich:
[Panel chairman Senator] Tupa, a social studies teacher in Colorado’s Boulder Valley School District, was absent for much of [Martin] Nussbaum’s testimony. Later, he told the Register he has seen no information to indicate a problem of sexual abuse in public schools.
Perhaps if he'd stayed in his seat and listened (this was a hearing, after all) he would have seen some. Here's part of what he missed:
Charol Shakeshaft, a Hofstra University researcher who prepared a federal report on public school sexual abuse, submitted written testimony to the Colorado Legislature that stated: “The physical sexual abuse of students in public schools is likely more than 100 times the abuse by priests.” Her testimony said most of the accused are shifted from one school to another and are seldom fired.
Martin Nussbaum, an attorney for the Colorado Catholic Conference,... submitted written documentation of 103 cases of child sexual abuse in public schools in the past eight years that have resulted in teachers losing their licenses. Most license revocations came only after criminal convictions.
A police investigator stated on the record:
"...Any officer can tell you that the majority of sexual abuse against minors occurs in our public schools.”
Lifting or at least extending the statute of limitations is probably not a bad idea. But why exempt the institutions with the biggest problem?
One word: MONEY
In effect the state will lose lots of money with suits filed similar to those perpetrated by priests.
Posted by: Big Tex | 20 March 2006 at 12:38 PM