Dozens of activists from throughout the state descended on
Albany on April 22 to demand passage of the Child Victims Act, a
long-stalled bill that would eliminate the criminal and civil statute of
limitations for child sexual abuse and create a one-year window for
past victims to seek justice.
“The current SOL [statute of limitations] prevents the arm
of the law from extending beyond the walls of institutions like Horace
Mann that conceal and cover up sexual abuse and discourages victims from
reporting lurid, harmful crimes,” said Peter Brooks, a leading
organizer for the Horace Mann Action Coalition (HMAC). The group has
sought justice over decades of sexual abuse perpetrated by faculty members against more than 30 students.