GOVERNOR Ralph DLG Torres on Wednesday signed into law a bill that allows civil claims regarding child sexual abuse to commence at any time.
House Bill 22-2, Senate Draft 1, authored by Rep. Joseph Leepan T. Guerrero, amends Title 7, Division 2, Chapter 5 of the Commonwealth Code by adding a section to place no time limit on child sexual claims.
The bill is now Public Law 22-12.
“Any claim arising from an incident of child sexual abuse may be commenced against a person, a legal entity, abusers, their enablers, their aiders or abettors, those acting in concert with them and their institutions at any time,” the new law states.
Moreover, any claim arising from an incident of child sexual abuse that occurred in the Commonwealth that has been barred by virtue of the expiration of the previous civil statute of limitations “shall be permitted to be filed in any court of competent jurisdiction.”
Torres thanked Guerrero as well as the other members of the 22nd Legislature for the bill’s passage.
The governor said it is never easy for victims and their families, adding that he wants to reassure the community that there are advocates, families, and people who care and are there for the victims and their families.
He hopes that the new law will offer help to victims who have been afraid to speak up as he encouraged the community to be advocates for victims by providing support and protection.
“I hope that the community understands that sexual abuse is never political,” he added. “It is about the victim and the perpetrator, and we must always fight, support, and protect our victims while working together to prevent and end sexual abuse in our Commonwealth.”
Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez, for his part, said the community is here to help the victims. “We should give victims the confidence, the courage, and the assurance that there are people in the community who are there to protect them through a support system. We also [must] make policy to prevent them from suffering in silence,” he added.
Grace Sablan-Vaiagae, a community advocate and certified counselor, said leaders must continue to stand up for the victims in the community.
She said the new law will allow victims to “step forward and say that they want to face their perpetrators, knowing justice is on their side.”
She also read a personal letter on behalf of a survivor that has been posted on social media:
“I am writing to tell you that you are not alone. I struggled in my decision to write this in large part because I didn’t want to put myself out there in this way. Honestly, I don’t know what I’m more scared of, saying something or staying silent. But after a week of talking to the women in my survivor’s group and feeling abject despair over the manner in which our community is handling the topic of sexual violence and abuse, I’m done. I’m done with our culture of silence. I’m done being ashamed. I’m done feeling angry. I’m done with feeling guilty. I know so many of you have been struggling this past week. I know because it has been really hard for me, too. Every single reason why so many of us stay silent, every single reason why we fear reporting, every single reason that we’ve used to justify why it’s better to suffer in silence to our own detriment, was affirmed this past week in a very public way.”
According to Sablan-Vaiagae, “We must not look at this as something political, or for personal gain, because it is not. It is about coming together, building a strong Marianas, and breaking the silence.”
The governor’s special adviser for women’s affairs, Shirley Camacho-Ogumoro, said Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month are observed in April, “but it does not mean that people must only be advocates during that month.”
She said every day is an opportunity for the people to speak out against sexual abuse, adding that women are not going to allow themselves to be victims anymore.
Division of Youth Services Administrator Vivian Sablan, for her part, said for victims and their families, dealing with abuse is a lifelong process that affects every aspect of one’s life. She said many victims have to deal with it for a lifetime.
In a statement, the new law’s author, Guerrero, said:
“As a former chief of parole and member of the Criminal Justice System, I attended numerous training sessions that discussed sexual abuse of minors [and] the perpetrators that were convicted or slipped through the judicial cracks without prosecution…. I highly encourage victims of sexual assault to start speaking out. There is no shame at all to hold accountable the perpetrators for the pain, fear, depression and expenses that the victims had to endure for years as they tried to move on with their lives…. I hope that the [attorney general would] look into cases that are dormant and/or needed to be revisited in the best interest of the victims [who] are scared to press charges against members of our community be it family, neighbors, friends etc…. I hope and pray that we can all make a difference in our community to protect defenseless individuals from being sexually assaulted by despicable individuals. Speak out CNMI in fairness for all victims.”
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and House Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez pose for a photo with other officials and advocates after the enactment of the law that places no time-limit on child sexual claims Wednesday at the administration building on Capital Hill.
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres signs House Bill 22-2 into law Wednesday in his conference room at the administration building on Capital Hill.
Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez said the community is here to help sexual abuse and sexual assault victims.
Grace Sablan-Vaiagae, center foreground, a community advocate and certified counselor, said the new law will allow victims to “step forward and say that they want to face their perpetrators, knowing justice is on their side.”
