It’s beyond hard for child sex abuse, clergy sex abuse and church sex abuse victims to come forward and get the justice they deserve. It’s frightening, brings back painful memories, and seems overwhelming, but in fact it is a healthy part of the healing process. Gregory Guggemos, a prominent Michigan attorney, has done just that. He has finally settled a church sex abuse suit with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing, Michigan for a quarter of a million dollars. Guggemos claims that he was sexually abused as a minor by Monsignor John Slowey from the St. Vincent Home for Children. He and his three brothers and sisters were residents there in the mid 1950’s. Guggemos struggled with the decision to come forth, but realized that it was the right thing to do. A few weeks after Greg settled his suit, it was reveled by the Catholic Church that the Reverend John Martin potentially sexually abused at least 6 boys from St. Isidore church located in Laingsburg, Michigan at about the same time. It would be nice if they were the only cases of priest abuse, clergy abuse, Catholic sex abuse and child sex abuse that existed in the State of Michigan, but that isn’t the case.
Too many child sex abuse victims still remain in Michigan, and it’s time for them to get their day in court. Sam Rogatinsky of the Rogatinsky Firm is a well known advocate for victims of sex abuse, be it victims of clergy abuse, minister sex abuse, rabbi abuse, or priest abuse. Mr. Rogatinsky can offer you his expert opinion on your child sex abuse case. You can reach Sam on the toll free number provided on this site or on you can call him on his cell phone any time, day or night, at (954) 995-3805. Please leave a message if Sam doesn’t have a chance to answer, your case is extremely important. Mr. Rogatinsky will even help you find the sex abuse therapy that all child sex abuse victims need. He’ll even put you in touch with helpful sex abuse support groups like http://www.jimhopper.com/male-ab/ and http://www.pokrov.org/.
It’s time the sex abuser that assaulted you when you were a minor got what they deserved. The statute of limitations for Michigan that affect your case are listed here:
Statute of Limitations for Civil Cases:
- The Statute of Limitations in Michigan allows a victim to file a personal injury suit 2 years after your 18th birthday and there is no Statute of Limitations for suits charging assault, battery, or false imprisonment. MICH. COMP. LAWS § 600.5805(2).
- If the sex abuse victim was under the age of 18 or was insane at the time the assault was committed, insane, the victim has 1 year to file suit after the disability is removed if the normal Statute has already elapsed. MICH. COMP. LAWS § 600.5851
- There is no discovery rule for claims that victims did not recognize the causal connection between the sex abuse and the injuries. See, e.g. Lemmerman v. Fealk, 201 Mich. App. 544, 507 N.W. 2d 226 (1993).
Statute of Limitations for Criminal Cases:
- There is no Statute of Limitations for sexual crimes committed in the 1st MICH. COMP. LAWS § 764.24(1). Some lesser sex abuse crimes have a 10 years Statute of Limitations after the crime occurs or after the victim’s 21st birthday, whichever is later. MICH. COMP. LAWS § 764.24(2)(a). Any other case may be discovered and filed within 6 years of the. MICH. COMP. LAWS § 764.24(5).
There is a DNA exception if evidence contains DNA that is determined to be from an unidentified individual, an indictment against that individual can be discovered and filed any time after the crime is committed. Once the sex abuser is identified, the indictment must be filed within 10 years of the identification or by the sex abuse victim’s 21st birthday, whichever is later. MICH. COMP. LAWS § 764.24(2)(b).
If someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse by a member of the clergy, contact our law firm at (954) 995.3805 or send an email to sexual abuse lawyer Samuel Rogatinsky at samr@clergyabuse.org