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Boy Scouts, Archdiocese Oppose Ga. Bill To Expand Rights For Sex Abuse Survivors

March 21st, 2018

Georgia House Bill 605 would extend the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse by 15 years. It would also let victims sue alleged perpetrators and their employers.

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A Georgia bill meant to provide more protection for victims of childhood sexual abuse has met some heavy opposition. Two major organizations are fighting the legislation: Atlanta’s Catholic Archdiocese and the Boy Scouts of America.

House Bill 605 would extend the statute of limitations for survivors by 15 years. It would also let victims sue alleged perpetrators and their employers. In a statement, the archdiocese said the legislation would allow lawsuits against organizations for actions alleged to have happened decades ago. The Boy Scouts agreed that provision is unfair to organizations.

“Time corrodes evidence,” Boy Scouts of America lobbyist Edward Lindsey told the state Senate Judiciary Committee last week. “You wait 20, 30, 40 years before you bring a suit, you make it very difficult on a defendant to defend himself.”

However, Barbara Dorris, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), says the bill wouldn’t necessarily make it easier for abuse victims to win cases.

“By removing the statute of limitations, you don’t in any way change the standard of proof, and the standard of proof falls to the person bringing the suit to prove what happened to them,” she says.

State Rep. Jason Spencer, R-Woodbine, is the bill’s sponsor. He says the Boy Scouts and the archdiocese share a hidden agenda.

“They keep citing unfairness. They keep citing unconstitutionality. They keep citing money. They keep citing bankruptcy,” Spencer said. “That has nothing to do with this. They know it, and I know it, and everybody else knows it. They’re sitting on secret files — more of them.”

By “secret files,” Spencer means more abuse cases.

The Boy Scouts of America and The Archdiocese of Atlanta declined interview requests.

Spencer hopes the bill will make it through committee this week so it can reach the Senate floor before the General Assembly session ends next week. However, he admits the bill’s opponents could slow down the process, effectively killing the bill before it comes up for a vote.