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Closure through a closed loophole

LEWES—A new Delaware law will allow alleged survivors of sexual abuse from a health care provider more time to file civil cases against accused offenders.

On Tuesday, Governor Jack Markell signed into law House Bill 326, calling it a clear signal that state government "stands squarely with the victims" in these cases.

The new law closes a loophole in the 2007 Delaware Child Victim's Act, including healthcare providers among those whom victims of sexual abuse can bring civil suits against at any point after the alleged acts of abuse, eliminating the statute of limitations.  The hole in the 2007 Delaware Child Victim's Act became apparent in the wake of the Earl Bradley child sex abuse case. Bradley, a former Lewes pediatrician, is accused of sexually abusing more than 100 of his patients.

The new law also creates a two-year “look-back” window for some previous victims to file lawsuits, even if the statute of limitations has expired.

Advocates of the new law say that it provides an opportunity for victim healing and awareness of sexual abuse.

Stephen J. Neuberger and his father Tom, law partners, have represented victims in more than 130 sexual abuse cases in Delaware. Many of those cases involved accusations of abuse by Roman Catholic clergy. They also successfully defended the 2007 Delaware Child Victims Act in constitutional due process challenge.

People have had a variety of motives for suing the church , Neuberger said the victims share one desire:

“They don’t want anyone else to go through what they went through,” he said.

Bringing their story into the courtroom allows survivors to expose perpetrators—and the institutions that have tried to cover up their crimes, he said.

“It’s empowering for survivors to be able to face their fears, face the person who destroyed their lives,” Neuberger said. “It allows them to regain a measure of control over their lives.”

Survivors of sexual abuse face many challenges as they turn to the courtroom. Although the process may bring closure, survivors are asked to tell and retell the abuse that occurred.

“The litigation process can be stressful,” said Steve DiJulio, clinical director of Survivors of Abuse in Recovery (S.O.A.R.) and a licensed psychologist.

DiJulio estimates that only a small percentage of survivors would choose to litigate, but that those who would make that choice might find closure in the process.

“I would imagine it would be fairly small, maybe 5 or 10 percent,” he said. “It’s a very personal private thing. It’s probably below 5 percent. With a high profile case, you might have more of those folks come forward.”

Many victims of childhood sexual abuse wait 20 or 30 years before they are ready to address the trauma, and by then the perpetrator may be dead, in prison, or in another circumstance that makes a day in court difficult.

DiJulio has found that helping survivors "detoxify" thoughts and feelings through individual and group therapy often is an effective means of healing. And that this work allows survivors to heal without having to confront the perpetrator.

For some a day in court would bring more pain than closure.

“There’s some firebrand victims who become survivors—but many [survivors] are anxious and fragile,” he said. Someone asking them “all these private questions can be quite distressing and can set people back in their healing.”

Yet DiJulio still supports the new law.

“I’m hoping that victims who are looking for closure might find it in this way,” he said. “The litigation process can be stressful, but it can be helpful for healing. By being heard in court they may feel justice has been done for them.”