Survivors renew call to amend Child Victims Act

Loopholes in the law have left thousands of survivors continuing to wait for their day in court and many are struggling to retain an attorney, said Gary Greenberg, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse who spearheaded the movement to pass the state’s Child Victims Act in the Legislature.

“Not all victims who wanted to file a claim could file a claim,” Greenberg said in a virtual press conference Wednesday. “Many victims — and I’ve heard from hundreds of them personally — went to a lawyer asking for help for them to take their case, and they were asked, ‘Does your case involve an institution, or does your abuser have money?’ and if they said ‘No’ to both, then automatically, the answer was, ‘Sorry, we cannot help you.’”

Greenberg, of New Baltimore in Greene County, founded the Fighting for Children PAC and ProtectNYKids Inc. He previously ran in 2020 for the Senate seat held by Sen. Michelle Hinchey, D-Saugerties.

The Adult Survivors Act would allow New Yorkers who suffered sexual abuse after the age of 18 — including people assaulted by medical providers, formerly incarcerated people or models in the fashion industry, athletes and others — to file civil lawsuits against their abusers for one year, regardless if statutes of limitations on legal claims have expired.

About 10,000 cases were filed under the Child Victims Act in civil court before the deadline last August, but thousands of victims who thought they would get justice under the law have not, Greenberg said.

“I felt like I was a little bit re-victimized each time I had to tell my story and they said no,” said Tracy Fichter, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse without an attorney who was one of several additional survivors to speak Wednesday.

“Mine would have been for a school district, and apparently, they don’t have enough money to take my case,” she said. “It wasn’t worthy of prosecution.”

Victims continue to be frustrated after some cases have not progressed in the two-and-a-half years since their filing.

“We have to get the cases that are in court moving, and we have to get justice for all victims,” Greenberg said. “The law was only a start. The Child Victims Act was a start, the state of New York had denied victims for years and so we need to amend it.”

The proposed Adult Survivors Act has the same wording as the Child Victims Act, which could open up adult survivors to the same legal issues as survivors of childhood sexual trauma who have struggled to file under the CVA.

Greenberg has increased his requests in letters to lawmakers hold a legislative hearing to examine potential loopholes in the Child Victims Act and amend the Adult Survivors Act to improve legal access for survivors before it is passed this session, or signed into law this year.

Legislative leaders and sponsors of the bill have not responded to his requests.

“No one is against adult survivors getting justice,” Greenberg said. “We have to make sure that every adult survivor that wants justice gets justice. And we have to go back and amend the CVA (Child Victims Act) to allow victims who could not file a claim file a claim, have lawyers do their claim pro-bono.”

Greenberg advocated for the Legislature to pass a proposed bill to create a fund for victims for legal fees, therapy and other assistance, Greenberg said.

“The Legislature has to force the courts to get moving,” he said. “I know COVID, and two-and-a-half years, but we have to move these cases. When Kathy Young and I created that fund, we were going to pay people within 90 days.”

Jack Cesare, a survivor who has let two attorneys go, encouraged victims to speak out and push for the advancement of their cases.

“The reason nothing is happening, not just with my attorney in the beginning, is because attorneys take so many cases, they don’t have the resources or don’t want to spend the resources to do anything,” Cesare said.

Attorneys have told Cesare his case is farther along than the majority of the 10,000 cases filed under the law statewide.

“That’s because I’m on their backs every other day pushing them to do their damn job,” Cesare said. “I wouldn’t let those attorneys sit on their ass waiting for settlements of bankruptcy — that’s what they are all doing.”

Victims are often too silent and need to be heard, Cesare said.

The Adult Survivors Act passed the Senate Judiciary Committee last month and remains in the Finance Committee. Senators voted unanimously to pass it last spring.

It remains in the Assembly Judiciary Committee.