The Media is Getting it Wrong: Jeffrey Epstein’s Victims and their Victims’ Rights Attorneys Deserve the Credit for Finally Bringing Him to Justice
Posted July 11th, 2019 by Steven J. Kelly in Criminal/Sexual Violence.
The media has widely credited the Miami Herald’s “Perversion of Justice” series with “exposing” the unprecedented non-prosecution agreement (“NPA”) in which former U.S. Attorney (and current Trump Labor Secretary) Alexander Acosta agreed to allow billionaire Jeffrey Epstein to avoid federal prosecution for running an international child sex trafficking operation. But the true credit for exposing […]
Secretary DeVos’ Proposal on Sexual Assault Draws Wave of Personal Attacks
Posted February 8th, 2019 by Steven J. Kelly in Criminal/Sexual Violence.
Not long after she was sworn in, Secretary DeVos met with campus sexual survivors and advocates and promised any action she took on Title IX would respect their viewpoint. That was a lie. Secretary DeVos’ proposed regulations overwhelmingly reflect the view of institutions seeking to limit liability at survivors’ expense, in four key ways. First, […]
Brett Kavanaugh Could Still Face Felony Charges in Maryland Courts
Posted September 23rd, 2018 by Steven J. Kelly in Criminal/Sexual Violence.
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford bravely came forward with allegations that Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, tried to rape her in 1982 in Montgomery County Maryland, when Kavanaugh was a 17-year-old student at Georgetown Prep in Bethesda, Maryland. While some have speculated that Kavanaugh could face charges for the 1982 incident, no one has […]
Why Maryland Lawmakers Should Accept the PA Grand Jury’s Recommendations on Priest Abuse
Posted August 15th, 2018 by Steven J. Kelly in Criminal/Sexual Violence.
Yesterday, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Statewide Investigating Grand Jury released a comprehensive report detailing the Catholic Church’s systematic and widespread cover-up of more than 300 Catholic clergy’s sexual abuse of thousands of children. The report exposes a shameful cover-up by the late Baltimore Cardinal William H. Keeler, which The Baltimore Sun detailed in an article […]
Are There Any Exceptions to the Statute of Limitations for Civil Claims of Sexual Abuse Victims in Maryland?
Posted August 1st, 2018 by Steven J. Kelly in Civil Litigation.
One of the biggest barriers to abuse victims’ pursuit of justice in Maryland is the strict time limits that victims have to file their claims (this is commonly called the “statute of limitations”). While research consistently demonstrates that most survivors of sexual abuse fail to report or disclose the abuse until they are at least […]
When Do the Civil Claims of Sexual Abuse Victims in Maryland Expire Under State Law?
Posted July 31st, 2018 by Steven J. Kelly in Civil Litigation.
The #MeToo Movement has helped draw attention to abuse victims’ right to pursue civil claims against the perpetrators who abused them and the institutions (e.g., churches, child care centers, schools, universities, colleges, teams, and programs) who failed to protect them from being abused. The voices of survivors are growing. Still, abuse victims have not yet […]
