REMARKS OF SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY DANIEL F. CONLEY: STATEMENT OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY DANIEL F. CONLEY ON HOUSE VOTE TO EXTEND STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON CHILD SEXUAL ASSAULT Thursday, July 27, 2006 Four years ago I offered the first proposal to abolish the statute of limitations on certain sexual crimes, including those against children, in order to give victims of these crimes the time they need to heal and not lose their opportunity to seek justice against their abusers. I offered the first bill on the subject because, far too often, prosecutors in my office and across the state have met with grown men and women who needed decades to learn that the abuse and exploitation they suffered as children was not their fault, only to find that the legal clock had stopped ticking years earlier. I am truly grateful to the Massachusetts House, and in particular Speaker DiMasi and Chairman Eugene O'Flaherty, who last night took action to extend the statute of limitations from 15 to 27 years. It is in the interests of those victims who now have, if not all the time we would hope, at least more time than they have previously had, that convinced me that this compromise was good and worthwhile. As I have often said, reasonable people can and do sometimes disagree and, make no mistake, I will continue to file legislation to eliminate the statute of limitations on these crimes in their entirety. But the House action has moved the clock in the right direction and will allow victims significantly more time to come forward than they previously enjoyed. I also want to thank and commend the Senate for its action today and urge the adoption of the Senate offered amendment which would effectively stop the clock ticking on the statute of limitations in those instances where victims are actually prevented from coming forward and reporting their abuse due to fear of their abuser or actions on the part of the abuser to prevent them from testifying, tamper with evidence and so forth. This is a reasonable and fair minded addition that would also expand the number of victims and their window of opportunity to have their day in court, while closing a major loophole through which too many abusers escape justice. Finally, I want to offer a special word of thanks to Senate President Travaglini who, prior to becoming Senate President, was the original sponsor of this bill on the Senate side, and to Representative Martin Walsh of Dorchester, the original house sponsor, for the years of support and effort they've dedicated to this. I want to thank the many community based and advocacy groups for their hard work and lobbying. The media also deserve special credit for the extraordinary job they've done keeping this issue alive over the years and for their outstanding efforts to bring stories of victims and their struggles to overcome years of abuse before the public in a fair and sensitive manner. Finally, the victims themselves who were the inspiration and driving force behind this effort. Today was a huge step forward but the work doesn't end here.