A victim on child sex abuse

Yeah I went throught the same thing, though in my case, the other abused boys were all ashamed about admitting they were the regular sex slaves of the Marist Prinicpal of St Patrick’s Primary School. So much for supporting witnesses.

However….

If 1) ACT law is similar to NSW – has a similar Limitations Act/ statute of limitations.

2) If you were in gaol, at war, in a coma or you have experienced anxiety, depression, psychosis….ect….for an extended period between age 18 and now, which affected your employment, relationships…ect… you may be able to get a psychiatrist to declare you were, for a period of time- “substantially incapable of managing one’s own affairs” (This may allow a civil or perhaps even criminal proceedings to fall within the statute of limitation period).

3) your father has money or property.

If your answers are yes, yes and yes then I believe you may be able to get somewhere with a Civil damages action. Best bet would be to consult a good Private solicitor with a reputation for difficult cases ( for example divorce, child custody and Catholic Church sex abuse).

I wont shit you- the above can take a while, though perhaps there could be some money at the end of it. For example, if the abuse ever occured on a business premises for example, then the business’ insurer could be liable for damages.

OP, I read that article in the Canberra Times the other day and it broke my heart. I’m so sorry you had to go through the intial abuse, then the trauma of reliving it and finding the courage to speak up only for it to come to this. It is a shame on our justice system.

When I read this my immediate thought was why none of our politicians have tried to have this unjust and totally inadequate piece of legislation changed.

Young people do not always have the wherewithal to say anything at the time, it is when they become older and gain strength that these criminal acts come to light.

All to often the perpetrator is able to rely on the passage of time instead of receiving what is deserved – putting behind bars with no chance of ever rejoining society.

I congratulate you for your courage and am sorry at the outcome. I send you my best wishes.

fabforty said :

Clown Killer said :

Whilst having a statute of limitations on some crimes probably makes sense for a bunch of reasons I can see where it gets problematic in the case of child sexual abuse.

The sheer nature of the crime, and the impact upon the victim, is such that it may take well into their adult life before the victim feels that they can even raise the issue – let alone deal with the resulting legal proceedings.

+100

Let’s hope those who are responsible for our laws immediately set about fixing this straight away.

OP, you are a very strong person. You did everything you could to hold this monster accountable for what he did but were let down by an archaic law. Frankly, I don’t know how some defence lawyers sleep at night.

The way I read it the loophole was fixed years ago so the problem is only for crimes committed in that period between.

Both the ACT Gov’t and the Lib’s have known about the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse for several years know. It was raised with both of them during the fight for justice for victims of abuse at Marist and Daramalan.

I’d suggest there are two reasons why nothing has been done:

1. they hate to make laws that could ‘retrospectively’ put people in jail (this was actually sai at the time); and
2. after such a long time, actual evidence is hard to come by and it’s just argument.

What has either side done about this issue though? Nothing. All too hard, sweep it under the carpet….

Clown Killer said :

Whilst having a statute of limitations on some crimes probably makes sense for a bunch of reasons I can see where it gets problematic in the case of child sexual abuse.

The sheer nature of the crime, and the impact upon the victim, is such that it may take well into their adult life before the victim feels that they can even raise the issue – let alone deal with the resulting legal proceedings.

+100

Let’s hope those who are responsible for our laws immediately set about fixing this straight away.

OP, you are a very strong person. You did everything you could to hold this monster accountable for what he did but were let down by an archaic law. Frankly, I don’t know how some defence lawyers sleep at night.

EvanJames said :

You’ve got to really wonder who would put a statute of limitations on a crime that will often only be revealed years or decades after it was committed. You have to *really* wonder.

Well i guess its put there to encourage people to come forward right away…

EvanJames said :

You’ve got to really wonder who would put a statute of limitations on a crime that will often only be revealed years or decades after it was committed. You have to *really* wonder.

This was done in the heady days of sexual liberation when it was anything goes. Very little was known back then about the long-term effects of sexual molestation of children because it was still “the unspeakable crime”. Unfortunately we are bound by the laws applying back then unless federal parliament passes laws retrospectively nullifying the statute of limitations during that period.

It would have to be federal parliament because the ACT didn’t have self-government in the 1970s.

Whilst having a statute of limitations on some crimes probably makes sense for a bunch of reasons I can see where it gets problematic in the case of child sexual abuse.

The sheer nature of the crime, and the impact upon the victim, is such that it may take well into their adult life before the victim feels that they can even raise the issue – let alone deal with the resulting legal proceedings.

You’ve got to really wonder who would put a statute of limitations on a crime that will often only be revealed years or decades after it was committed. You have to *really* wonder.