Child Victims Act champion to push for Erin’s Law

Columbia-Greene Media

NEW BALTIMORE — A Greene County advocate for survivors of child sexual abuse is applying his force behind legislation that would require all public schools in each state to implement a prevention-oriented child sexual abuse program.

Gary Greenberg, of New Baltimore, is joining forces with childhood sexual assault survivor, author, speaker and activist Erin Merryn, of Illinois, to get her trademark legislation Erin’s Law passed in New York this year.

Greenberg has been a longtime advocate for the Child Victims Act, which extends the statute of limitations on sexual crimes committed against children.

The Child Victims Act, which extends the statute of limitations to when the survivor turns 28 years old, counting down the statute of limitations starting when the survivor turns 23 years old, passed this year and was signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Feb. 14. The new law also extends the statute of limitations on civil cases until the individual is 55 years old.

“I was tired of looking into the eyes of all these brave survivors, who had suffered endlessly, and then taken time away from work and saved up money to travel to Albany, some of them returning spare cans and bottles to buy an Amtrak ticket, only to be told to go home and hope for something better next year,” Greenberg said. “Well, that’s when I took my work into almost 20 Senate districts across this state. When the people became educated about the Child Victims Act, it became a top issue in the election, as some districts’ polling reported that the candidates’ stance on the Child Victims Act was the top motivating factor for Senate votes.”

Greenberg used his Fighting for Children Political Action Committee to influence the 2018 elections, supporting Senate candidates sympathetic to the Child Victims Act. Traditionally, the Child Victims Act passed the Assembly, but was held up year after year by the Republican leadership in the Senate, but after Democrats won the majority of seats in the Senate in 2018, the bill passed unanimously this year.

Greenberg is planning to use that same influence to push the passage of Erin’s Law, which has passed in the Senate over several consecutive years, but has not passed in the Assembly.

“I have always said that I will never give up on passing Erin’s Law in all 50 states,” Merryn said. “Seven years ago, I tried passing it in New York, which would have made it one of the first states to pass the law. Today, 35 states have passed the law, but not New York.”

Erin’s Law, named for Merryn, who was sexually abused and raped between the ages of 6 and 8 by an adult neighbor, would require public schools offer grades preK through 12th grade age-appropriate techniques to recognize child sexual abuse and tell a trusted adult, teach school personnel about child sexual abuse, inform parents about the warning signs of child sexual abuse and provide needed assistance, referral or resource information to support sexually abused children and their families.

“Any step our government can take to help protect our children and keep them safe and informed is something I think we can all get behind,” said Assemblyman Chris Tague, R-102. “If we can provide the resources and education necessary to help ensure that our children know how to identify a dangerous situation or help out a friend, I think we should look into it. After all, protecting our kids is something we can all agree is a priority.”

In 2015, Congress passed a federal version of Erin’s Law that provides funding to states that implement Erin’s Law to help pay for the provisions of the legislation.

“I am partnering with Gary, Fighting for Children PAC and the thousands of survivors in New York which they represent today in order to elevate this issue,” Merryn said. “We must pass Erin’s Law in New York.”