child sexual abuse NY

Published on: June 17, 2021

When CPS makes a child situation worst

Child Protective Services mission is to protect children from all forms of physical and emotional abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation and neglect. It is a very powerful agency. In New York, CPS can remove children from their parents if “a single incident of excessive corporal punishment is sufficient to support a finding of neglect” (Matter of Eliora B. [Kennedy B.], 146 AD3d 772, 773, 45 N.Y.S.3d 144).”

In a recent commentary in the New York Law Journal, Daniel Pollack MSW, Esq., a professor at Yeshiva University’s School of Social Work in New York City and Christine M. Sarteschi, an Associate Professor of Social Work and Criminology at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA ask if removing the child is sometimes more traumatizing than leaving the child at home? In other words, is Child Protective Services (CPS) knowingly, legally – yet ironically – committing an acknowledged act of child maltreatment that is more detrimental than the original act for which the parents were “substantiated”? To use the vernacular, is CPS sometimes taking children out of the frying pan and consciously placing them into the fire? Such removals are not in the best interest of the child. Unspoken, but quietly acknowledged, is that the child may be removed because CPS is concerned about its own liability more than it is concerned about the long-term safety of the child.

Read the commentary here

Published on: April 16, 2021

Principal of Upstate NY School accused of sexually abusing 9 boys between 9 and 12 year old

By GGCRBHS&M

The principal of an elementary school sexually abused students for years in Greece Town, Upstate New York.

51 year old, Kirk Ashton, the principal at Northwood Elementary School, in Greece Town, is accused of sexually abusing 9 boys between the age of 9 and 12 year old. Kirk has been a principal at the school since 2004 and the abuse went on for years.

The principal is facing 6 counts of first degree sexual abuse, 5 counts of second degree sexual abuse and 9 counts of endangering the welfare of a child

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Published on: November 12, 2020

Vatican report indicates Pope John Paul II, who was made Saint in 2014, knew about McCarrick allegations of sexual misconduct when he promoted him

By GGCRBHS&M

An in-depth Vatican report about Cardinal McCarrick’s sexual misconduct with children and young adults indicates that when pope John Paul II appointed him to Washington in 2000 and created him cardinal in early 2001, he was aware of the following child sexual abuse allegations against McCarrick:

A priest complaint that McCarrick tried to engage in sexual activity with him in the summer of 1987 when McCarrick was Archbishop of Newark . The same priest who at that time was part of the Diocese of Metuchen also alleged that he saw McCarrick engaging in sexual activity with another priest in June 1987
Anonymous letters accusing McCarrick of pedophilia with his nephews were sent to multiple cardinals in the US and to the the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Apostolic Nuncio

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Published on: September 10, 2020

Child sexual abuse complaint filed against Kevin Spacey in New York State Supreme Court

By GGCRBHS&M

Hollywood Star Kevin Spacey sexually abused two children when they were only 14 years old. As with most pedophiles, Spacey groomed these children, took advantage of their youth and engaged in abusive sexual acts. Spacey’s conduct was not only improper, but it was a crime. “There is no justification for this conduct. These children were underage and had no ability to consent to Spacey’s sexual advances. Simply put, Spacey engaged in acts of, among other things, rape,” said Ben Rubinowitz who, along with Peter Saghir, has been handling cases of sexual abuse for years. “This action has been brought pursuant to New York’s Child Victims Act, a law that was recently passed allowing victims of sexual abuse to bring civil claims against abusers as well as institutions such as schools, churches and camps. No matter when the abuse occurred, the law currently allows claims for sexual abuse that were once barred by the statute of limitations to be revived and filed through August 14, 2021,” said Saghir. A copy of the complaint filed against Spacey can be found here.

Our firm is dedicated to representing victims of sexual abuse

Our goal has always been to make sure that victims of sexual abuse receive the justice to which they are entitled. Children, who are often the targets of sexual predators, are frequently afraid to report the abuse out of embarrassment, humiliation and fear of punishment or retaliation. As a result, these crimes have gone unpunished for years as pedophiles and institutions have been able to hide behind statutes of limitations that prevented lawsuits from being filed. “Now that the law has changed and victims of sexual abuse can bring claims in our civil courts, victims of abuse will finally be able to receive justice,” said Rubinowitz. “Our firm will work tirelessly to make sure victims of sexual abuse receive the justice they have been denied for years.”

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Published on: August 5, 2020

Look-back window under the NY Child Victims Act extended to August 14 2021

By GGCRBHS&M

Victims of Child Sexual Abuse in New York have been granted an extra year to file a lawsuit against their offenders independently of when the crime was committed. In February 2019, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the New York Child Victim Act that allows victims of child sexual abuse in New York State to bring a civil claim against their abuser and institution until they turn 55 year old. Victims of child sexual abuse who were older than 55 year old when the Child Victim Act was passed were offered a one year “look-back window” to file a lawsuit against their aggressor and their institution independently of their age and when the abuse occurred. As the coronarvirus crisis hit the US, the State of New York went into a lock-down period between March and June. All activities slowed down and Court services were limited to essential proceedings. To make sure all child victims of sexual abuse were provided enough time to bring a civil lawsuit against their abuser, Andrew Cuomo previously extended the look back window to January 14 202 1 on May 8. (see previous blog). However New York lawmakers felt that the January deadline was not giving enough time to victims to seek compensation and last June they unanimously agreed and signed a bill to extend the look-back window to August 14 2021. The bill was signed yesterday by Andrew Cuomo. “As New York continues to reopen and recover from a public health crisis, extending the look back window is the right thing to do and will help ensure that abusers and those who enabled them are held accountable” Governor Cuomo said.

Since the Child Victim Acts was signed on February 14 2019, more than 3000 victims of child sexual abuse came forward and filed a lawsuit against their abuser as well as the institution that allowed the abuse to happen

A large bulk of the lawsuits were filed against various New York dioceses of the Catholic Church. New York Public Schools and other children institutions such as scouts and camps have also been been sued.

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