| MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT A 5488 Click Here to read full bill An ACT to amend the criminal procedure law in relation to the timeliness
of prosecutions for certain sex offenses; and to amend the civil practice
law and rules, in relation to the On behalf of the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police, we write to support Assembly bill A 5488 and urge its passage in both houses of the Legislature. Sex crimes, particularly those committed against children, are among the most heinous and deeply disturbing in our society. They are crimes that leave life-long scars, multiple victims and require an all encompassing strategy to combat. This proposal would extend the authority to prosecute and to bring a civil lawsuit for damages in child sexual abuse cases in three significant ways, regardless of whether or not DNA evidence is available. This bill will provide a remedy for those whose lives have been unalterably changed by the horror of childhood sexual abuse. Victims of these horrific crimes will get their day in court and be able to seek the justice they have been denied. Since this bill will extend the statute of limitations for criminal and civil actions for sex offenses committed against a child less than eighteen years of age, while acting as a deterrent to these abhorrent offenses and increasing the likelihood of conviction of the perpetrator, we urge that it be enacted into law.
New York State Association of Chiefs of Police |