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30 years.

Much has changed at Jacob Wetterling Resource Center since our early days of sending out missing posters by mail shoulder to shoulder with volunteers in a basement in St. Joseph. Our work originated in a family and community’s belief that what happened to Jacob wasn’t fair and being moved to act. The community came together and began making the world a place worthy of all of its children. That early energy has never gone away and for that we are so thankful.

The work we do now at JWRC with our team at Zero Abuse Project is national and even global work in the response and prevention of child maltreatment. All of the work has been important. Our volunteers and supporters beginning in Central MN and extending globally have kept us going.

Much has changed in 30 years, but Jacob’s core belief that the world should be fair continues tobe a guiding force for our team.

• No one has the right to hurt children.
• Children have the right to feel safe in their homes and communities.
• Every person has a role to play in prevention.

This moment in time is a chance for us to say thank you. Thank you to the Wetterling family for facing an ongoing horrible nightmare and finding the energy to create a movement and place to support other searching families and prevent crime from happening to children. Thank you to the volunteers and supporters who have given of their time and resources to keep our doors open and our lights on. Thank you to all of the people who have reached out to coordinate educational opportunities for their students, staff, and parents as they live into the hope that prevention does work. Thank you to all of our client families who have trusted us with their stories as we walk alongside them as they move in their hope of finding answers.

We continue to do this work as a team, knowing there is power when we work together. Our team has expanded and grown as we now work under the umbrella of Zero Abuse Project. We all share the same core belief that prevention is possible and that children deserve to be safe. We are thankful for our colleagues in the field doing what they can with what they have to make the world better for kids.

Much has changed in 30 years, but our hope and thankfulness remain at the core of our team at JWRC. We come to work under the picture of a child who believed the world should be fair. Jacob deserved to be safe and what happened to him was absolutely unfair. We do this work knowing all children deserve to be safe. We do this work to make the world more fair for children. We continue to be thankful for everyone who joins us in this belief.

Alison Feigh

Director, JWRC

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CONTACT: Melissa Green, Zero Abuse Project | 202.494.9554 | melissagreen@rational360.com

Washington, DC (December 11, 2019) – Zero Abuse Project today released the following statement from CEO Jeff Dion on legislation introduced in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate that would give investigators more time to gather evidence in cases involving online child sexual abuse images. The END Child Exploitation Act would double the amount of time tech companies are required to retain information related to child sexual abuse image cases from 90 to 180 days. “We thank Reps. Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), Annie Kuster (D-NH), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), and Lucy McBath (D-GA) and Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) for introducing this much-needed legislation in the fight to stop child sexual abuse. We know all too well how prevalent child sexual abuse is, and with the explosion of social networking, the distribution of child sexual abuse images on the internet has increased exponentially in recent years. And the largest, most well-known tech companies have not implemented policies that are even nearly commensurate with the scale, scope, and severity of this issue.

“It was time for Congress to act, and we appreciate the leadership of these legislators in taking a critical step forward to empower investigators to more effectively prosecute criminals who sexually exploit and abuse children on the internet. The END Child Exploitation Act puts predators who commit these heinous crimes on notice, as it equips law enforcement with more resources to identify and prosecute criminal abusers. It also is a warning to massive tech companies that they can no longer sidestep responsibility and must be doing more to protect our
kids.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 2, 2019
CONTACT: Marissa Marzano | Communications Manager, NJCASA | mmarzano@njcasa.org
Ben Ogden-Lord, Zero Abuse Project | 202.470.5367 | benjaminogdenlord@rational360.com

TRENTON, N.J. – Sunday, December 1 marked the enactment of New Jersey’s expanded civil statute of limitations for sexual assault. The new statute places the Garden State at the forefront of the nation for survivors of sexual assault who want to access the civil justice system.

Previously, survivors had two years to pursue civil justice; people who were abused as children had until age 20. With the new statute, survivors have seven years  to pursue civil remedies. Adult survivors of child sexual abuse now have until age 55 or seven years, whichever is later.

In addition, the new statute also opens up a two-year window, for survivors whose civil claims were previously time-barred by the more restrictive statute.

Advocates, lawmakers, and experts all hailed the new law.

“Today is a milestone. After so many years, and such a long fight, the law that expands the statute of limitations for sexual assault is now in effect,” said Senator Joseph Vitale, D – N.J. LD19. “Victims can file their civil cases and begin, within the legal system, their journey to justice. I’d like to point out again that we would not be here without the selfless actions and advocacy of so many victims across the state who poured their hearts out to create change. We are here, announcing this law is in effect, because of them. I hope the news that victims can begin filing their cases under this new law spreads far and wide, and we hold the perpetrators and institutions accountable everywhere we can.”

“It can be hard for victims of sexual assault to come forward. That’s why the expansion of the statute of limitations was extremely important,” said Assemblywoman Annette Quijano, D – N.J. LD 20. “These were the most traumatic moments of a survivor’s life and they deserve the time to seek justice.  The legislation I sponsored in the Assembly was necessary and I am proud of the work we did in the legislature to bring this issue to light. Now, with the law in effect, many sexual assault victims have the opportunity they need to obtain justice for the wrongs committed against them.”

“This is a momentous day for many survivors,” said Patricia Teffenhart, executive director of the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NJCASA). “For too long, survivors of sexual assault in New Jersey were being cut off from this very specific form of justice, unjustly placing the financial impact of the crimes committed against them on their shoulders, rather than those of their abusers. And we know that sexual violence has significant financial impacts on its victims, along with emotional, psychological, and physical impacts. On average, the lifetime economic burden of sexual assault is $122,461 – encompassing losses in workplace productivity, physical and mental health costs, and lost tuition payments, among others. For many survivors, this change will allow the cost to be placed on the person or entity that caused harm, not the person who experienced harm. We thank Senator Vitale and Assemblywoman Quijano for being our fiercest advocates in the New Jersey Legislature, and we are endlessly grateful for the dozens and dozens of survivors who came to Trenton, shared their stories, and highlighted how enormous the impact of this legislation would be. Today, the pathway to justice widens for survivors in the Garden State.”

“Victims of crime should be entitled to justice. It is particularly egregious when a crime is a sexual assault,” said Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, R – N.J. LD13. “This law creates a path for victims of sexual assault to finally hold accountable those that wronged them- to empower those harmed and finally give them a sense of deserved justice, to truly begin the healing process.”

“The protections of the law and the doors of the courthouse are now open in new and important ways to victims of sexual assault,” said Craig Hubert, Trustee of the New Jersey State Bar Association.  “The extended  statute of limitations recognizes the unique circumstances faced by survivors of abuse and provides them the additional time they need to come forward and take affirmative steps to seek damages for the harms done to them in the past. Today is an important one because sexual abuse — especially when it is done to a child — by its nature is so different from other conduct at the heart of other causes of action. Due to their tender age and inability or reluctance to tell someone about the abuse, those abused as children deserve to be treated differently. Indeed, each victim must come to terms with the abuse and its consequences before they can even begin to consider turning to the courts. These victims deserve to have a fair opportunity to assert these claims in the courts and have a judge and jury consider the claims in a due and just process. This law continues to provide important limits, to ensure just treatment of all parties, but does so in a manner that recognizes the unique circumstances of the situation. As with any new law, The New Jersey State Bar Association stands ready to monitor its launch and aid parties in overcoming any road bumps they may encounter.”

“New Jersey’s reforms to the statute of limitations for child sexual assault mark a critical turning point for survivors in the Garden State. The two-year civil window and expanded civil statute of limitations will empower survivors to seek justice and hold accountable predators and the institutions – both public and private ones – who engaged in criminal cover-up,” said Jeff Dion, CEO of Zero Abuse Project. “Moreover, the new law will serve to identify and exposure both perpetrators and institutions that cover up child sexual assault. This will help protect kids from future abuse. We thank Governor Murphy, Senator Vitale, and the New Jersey Legislature for the passage of this critical new law. Because of their actions, child sex predators and the institutions that harbor them are facing a reckoning. We can now help survivors find justice, we can stop child sex abuse, and we can protect kids.”

ABOUT NJCASA: NJCASA (www.njcasa.org) is the statewide technical assistance, and capacity building organization that represents New Jersey’s twenty-one county-based rape crisis centers, and the Rutgers University Office of Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance. NJCASA elevates the voice of sexual violence survivors and service providers by advocating for survivor-centered legislation, training allied professionals, and supporting statewide prevention strategies that work to address and defy the socio-cultural norms that permit and promote rape culture.

ABOUT Zero Abuse Project: Zero Abuse Project (www.zeroabuseproject.org) is an organization that is committed to the elimination of child sexual abuse. Our programs are designed to provide training and education to professionals and students, and to help transform institutions to effectively prevent, recognize and respond to child sexual abuse.

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Contact Joe Connelly: josephconnelly@rational360.com | 617.838.7120

Catholic Church’s Independent Victims Compensation Program in California is a Thinly Veiled Attempt to Buy Silence

Los Angeles, CA (October 14, 2019) – Zero Abuse Project today issued the following statement from Joelle Casteix, a founding board member of Zero Abuse Project and former Western Regional Leader of SNAP, on the Catholic Church’s Independent Victims Compensation Program. Six California Dioceses – the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Dioceses of Fresno, Orange, Sacramento, San Bernardino, and San Diego – are participating in the program, which offers monetary compensation to some survivors of childhood sexual abuse by particular priests. In exchange, the offending diocese will have no obligation to release documents that would demonstrate the extent to which Church officials knew about and covered up alleged abuse. Additionally, the diocese(s) are not required nor compelled to release names of accused priests.

“We understand that for some survivors, the Catholic Church’s compensation program may be an option. We support all survivors coming forward – whenever, however, and if ever they are ready. But we must ensure survivors know the Church’s program is not well-intentioned. To be as clear as possible: The Independent Victims Compensation Program enables the Church to settle for pennies on the dollar, while binding survivors to secrecy.

“With Assembly Bill 218 now law, the Catholic Church in California recognizes that they are facing an entirely new level of exposure and scrutiny. The scope and scale of the abuse and cover-up will be catastrophic and embarrassing to the Church hierarchy. They will do anything to shortchange victims in their attempt to keep Church secrets away from the courthouse and public. However, their efforts may be in violation of 2016’s California Assembly Bill 1682 which prohibits stipulations in a civil settlement for childhood sexual abuse that prevent the disclosure of factual information pertinent to the case.

“If the Catholic Church is truly committed to accepting responsibility for the decades of abuse they perpetrated and covered up, and sincerely wants survivors to receive justice, they should halt their deceptive actions. They must be completely transparent about the true intentions of the Independent Victims Compensation Program. Survivors have the right to know their options and make an informed choice about what is best for them. To protect kids from abuse right now, the Church must be held fully accountable today and every day thereafter.”

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Joelle Casteix testified as the main witness on behalf of AB 218 in Sacramento. She is a survivor of child sexual abuse in California and successfully sued the Catholic Church in 2002. Joelle is now a leading national spokesperson and advocate for other survivors. She is a founding board member of Zero Abuse Project. She is the former Western Regional Leader of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

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