House lawmakers in Delaware approved a bill yesterday that eliminated the two-year statute of limitations for victims of child sex abuse, but it does not apply to public school teachers. An attempt by Rep. Greg Lavelle to pass an amendment waiving immunity for government workers failed (he will try again). The bill now goes back to the Senate. Leading the charge to protect the teachers is Sen. Karen Peterson.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented as follows:
“The degree of corruption in the Delaware legislature is matched only by the selective indignation its lawmakers have for child rape. The legislators are owned—lock, stock and barrel—by the teachers unions. Teachers can grope all they want. They can rape little kids. And now they will be protected by making it harder to prosecute them. Yet the most reliable data on this subject, presented by Dr. Charol Shakeshaft of Hofstra University, show that public school employees have the highest rate of child sexual abuse in the nation.
“This sick game was tried last year in Colorado. Three bills were introduced trying to stick it to private institutions while giving public ones a pass; thanks to public pressure, they did not succeed. When a bill was introduced that would blanket all institutions equally, one of the lawmakers owned by the teachers unions called the Catholic Church’s bluff and said the bishops wouldn’t support it. He was wrong. And so why did the bills fail? Not because of resistance from the Catholic Church, but because of the teachers unions.
“If there were a law that said Catholic teachers should get immunity from a bill that makes it easier to sue them for child sex abuse cases, there would be screaming and yelling the likes of which we’ve never heard before. But when public school teachers get the green light, all is well in the bowels of the legislature. We are contacting the lawmakers today.”
Support Rep. Lavelle: Greg.Lavelle@state.de.us. This is a national issue. And let his chief opponent know what you think: Karen.Peterson@state.de.us
