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Corey Feldman Speaks Out In Support Of Child Victims Act At New York State Rally
The former child actor and abuse survivor is passonate about brining child abusers to justice.
Former child star Corey Feldman is urging New York State lawmakers to pass the Child Victims Act.
The 46-year-old actor was at the Capitol on Wednesday to speak out about child abuse in a rally held on the Million Dollar Staircase, according to the Times Union.
Feldman, who says he is a survivor of child abuse, appeared on The Dr. Oz Show last year and told host Mehmet Oz that he was sexually abused by another action when he was still a child. This potential new law would allow alleged victims of sexual assault to file a lawsuit against their abusers or any organization that may have enabled the abuse for up to one year after the assault.
The proposed act would also extend the statute of limitations to age 50, whereas it currently stands at five years for prosecution of felony sexual abuse crimes and begins when the victim turns 18 years old.
Feldman is passionate about bringing child sex predators to justice, advocating for the bill that would give alleged victims more time to sue their abusers and give them the chance he never had, according to Page Six.
"As someone who was failed by the justice system because of a restrictive statute of limitations, I am proud to stand with so many survivors today to try to pass common-sense legislation," he said.
As part of the rally, Feldman and other fellow survivors, such as U.S.A. volleyball player Sarah Powers-Barnhard, the group confronted Senate Republicans and implored them to vote on the bill, according to NY Daily News. One of the senators who was cornered outside of the chamber was Andrew Lanza, a Staten Island Republican with a competing bill that survivors like Feldman say is inadequate. However, Lanza is not planning to support the Child Victims Act as written, according to the NY Daily News.
"I think this bill does more harm than good," Lanza said to the group.
Despite praising Feldman for coming forward with this story, Lanza particular opposes the one-year window to revive old cases. He is working on a possible compromise, but advocates said that they will not accept a new bill that doesn't include a way to revive old cases.
"I am shocked about his insensitivity towards victims of child rape," Kathryn Robb, a survivor and advocate, said to the NY Daily News.
"They don't seem to even want to hear it," Feldman said in the end, as he walked away disheartened. "It's like they already made up their mind."
[Photo: Getty]
