Lawmakers should make prosecution of child abusers a priority
Salem News
So it is unfortunate, to say the least, that most members of the Legislature apparently can’t be bothered to vote on a bill that would extend the allowable time to report such crimes.
Fifteen years is the maximum amount of time allowed under the statute of limitations for reporting child abuse. And while there is a bill before the Legislature that would increase it by 12 years, it did not come to a vote by the end of the regular session July 31.
Children’s advocate Debbie Savoia of North Andover, vice president of the Chelmsford-based Community Voices, has been trying to get pledges from legislators for two things: To support the bill and to pressure House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, D-Boston, to bring it to a vote when the Legislature reconvenes for a one-day session sometime this month.
The bill brings the right balance to a painful, contentious issue. There should be a statute of limitations – victims have a responsibility to bring a complaint within a reasonable time – and the proposed 27 years does that, especially when the clock doesn’t start until a person turns 16 years old.
But few legislators have agreed to support the bill which was co-sponsored by state Rep. Anthony Verga, D-Gloucester. At the end of last week, only 10 had signed on to it.
Rep. Barbara L’Italien, D-Andover, whose district includes the town of Boxford, is in favor of quick action. “I think it’s important we aggressively protect the rights of young victims,” she told Statehouse reporter Ed Mason recently.
And state Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, has joined several colleagues in sending a letter to Senate President Robert Travaglini asking that the matter be taken up at the special session.
Rep. William Lantigua, D-Lawrence, says he won’t make the pledge because he doesn’t like its “tone.” That is, at best, a juvenile objection.
A more substantive objection comes from Rep. Harriett Stanley, D-West Newbury. She says she supports the legislation’s intent – in fact, she says she might support eliminating the statute of limitations altogether – but believes pledges hamstring legislators by failing to allow for changing circumstances or new information.
That may be true. But it is also true that the Legislature generally finds the time to do what its members, particularly its leaders, think is important.
This is important. It is more than feel-good legislation. It is a bill that should have passed during the regular session. The membership ought to send that message to DiMasi. And he ought to make time this month for a vote on a bill that, while it will surely not eliminate child abuse, offers the chance of keeping more of those who commit such heinous crimes away from their next victims.
