SURVIVORS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE LAUNCH ROBOCALLS IN SENATOR CHRIS JACOB’S DISTRICT ALERTING CONSTITUENTS THAT THE SENATOR IS PROTECTING PREDATORS BY BLOCKING CHILD VICTIMS ACT FROM PASSAGE 

Coalition of Child Sex Abuse Survivors and Advocates Launch Calls Urging Constituents to Call Senator Jacobs to Tell Her to Stop Protecting Predators and Start Protecting Kids 

ALBANY, NY – Child sex abuse survivors and their advocates launched a series of hard hitting automated calls in the home district of Senator Chris Jacobs asking constituents to call the senator’s office and ask why he is protecting predators over children and victims. The calls are part of a statewide campaign to push for passage of the Child Victims Act which would expand the statute of limitations for criminal and civil action against child predators. Jacobs has been part of a Senate GOP effort to block the bill from a vote. The budget released by the Senate GOP conference omitted the provision, despite its inclusion in both the Governor’s and Assembly’s budget bills.  

The calls feature victims of childhood sexual abuse with ties to the senators’ districts and alert callers to the fact that Jacobs has been blocking a bill that would allow them to hold predators accountable. In the calls, survivors urge constituents to call their senators and urge them to support the Child Victims Act.

An audio file for calls in Senator Jacob’s district can be found HERE.

New Yorkers Against Hidden Predators has been waging an aggressive campaign to get members of the Republican State Senate to compel their leadership to support passage if the Child Victims Act. The latest automated calls come on the heels of a series of district-based press events, online digital ads, a Quinnipiac poll showing 90% of New Yorkers support the bill, and actors Corey Feldman and Julianne Moore weighing in publicly on its behalf. A long list of editorials from across the state have weighed in urging passage, including:  New York Daily News, The New York Times, Westchester Journal News, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Buffalo News, Middletown Times Herald-Record, and Nassau County Island Now.  

New York currently has one the most restrictive statute of limitations for child sexual abuse crimes of any state in the country. Most victims are barred from filing criminal and civil claims once they turn 23 years old. The Child Victims Act expands the criminal and civil statutes of limitations for child sexual abuse cases and will create a 1-year “window" for previously unaddressed civil claims to be heard in court, so that predators who have previously gotten away with child sex abuse crimes can be held accountable. The bill was included in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2018 executive budget proposal and was passed by the Assembly in 2017.

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About New Yorkers Against Hidden Predators

New Yorkers Against Hidden Predators (NYAHP) is committed to passing the Child Victims Act in New York and holding legislators accountable for failure to act. NYAHP is seeking to reform New York State's antiquated child sexual abuse laws and bring to justice the hidden sexual predators that live in our communities today. For more information visit www.stophiddenpredators.com.