Amy, a sexual abuse survivor, was 11 years old when she was touched inappropriately by a male figure in her church.
The abuse has impacted Amy all her life and when the Child Victim’s Act passed, she was afraid to file a claim.
“I was shaking and my heart was racing, I didn’t know what to expect, and rehashing everything he had done to me, I didn’t know how I was going to handle it,” said Amy.
And when she learned the Syracuse Catholic Diocese filed for bankruptcy, she was upset.
“I thought it was them taking the easy way out so they didn’t have to be accountable,” said Amy.
“We’re not going to get to the truth of the matter anymore. The diocese is going to be able to avoid what really happened with this perpetrator,” said Jennifer Freeman, senior counsel at Marsh Law Firm.
Freeman is Amy’s attorney.
“My client will not have her day in court and it’s really important to have that opportunity to face the wrongdoer and hold them accountable,” said Freeman.
Chapter 11 court is much different than civil court. The focus will be on the allocation of assets.
“So rather than a focus on what really happened and who is responsible it will be twisted into how much she gets and that’s not what’s she’s really looking for,” said Freeman.
The deadline to file under the Child Victim’s Act is August 13, but now that the diocese has filed for bankruptcy the court will set a bar date which could be sooner.
“Anyone out there who is listening to this, find someone and get your claim in right away. You really can’t wait,” said Freeman.
Leave a Reply