Posted: | April 26, 2019 02:52 PM |
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From: | Senator Lawrence M. Farnese, Jr. |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | Protecting child victims,parents and guardians in child sex abuse cases |
As we make strides in long overdue justice to the adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, we must also consider measures to ease the journey of those victimized today. Under current law, minor victims of sexual assault who file civil suits seeking damages for the injuries they suffered have their names shielded by law. However, when a parent or guardian files on behalf of the child, it is far too easy to quickly extrapolate who the victim is. Therefore, I am introducing legislation which will also automatically shield the name of a parent or guardian who files a civil suit for damages on behalf of an injured child. A judge may still release the name to the defendant if deemed necessary, however, those names must remain confidential, removing the potential harm of more public scrutiny to the already traumatized child. |
Introduced as SB948