THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 7, 1994 TAG: 9411070230
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
The long, hard road traveled by Marjorie Hill began with a troubled childhood in Hampton and twisted through a maze of confusing years in adolescence and young adulthood.
Hers was a damaged life, haunted by the memory of repeated episodes of childhood sexual abuse that the civil courts of Virginia all but ignored.
But with the help of former senatorial candidate and Richmond attorney Sylvia Clute, Hill's pain and suffering has led to Election Day 1994.
On Tuesday, the central event in Hill's life goes to a referendum before the voters of Virginia in the form of a proposed constitutional amendment, the first of three on the ballot. If it passes, the amendment could change the way sexual abuse cases are handled in the state's civil courts.
``I feel it is important to me personally because of my case,'' Hill said last week. ``But it will affect all survivors of childhood sexual abuse.''
The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star's policy is to not identify sex-abuse victims. Hill agreed to have her name used.
The amendment would allow the Virginia legislature to retroactively extend the statute of limitations when an individual intentionally injures a child.
Currently, people who were abused or injured as children have until their 20th birthday to file a civil lawsuit against their abuser. If they don't do it by then, they no longer can, according to current Virginia law. The General Assembly had acted in 1988 to extend the statute of limitations, but that action was ruled unconstitutional by the Virginia Supreme Court.
After years of refinement, the narrowly drawn amendment would apply only to individuals, Clute says. It would not allow lawsuits against churches, clubs or other organizations.
``We are hoping that voters will agree if you intentionally injure a child, you should be held responsible for it,'' Clute said.
The issue of sexual abuse has been close to Clute since 1988, when she tried one of Virginia's first civil incest cases. That's when she realized ``what a unique injury this is.''
Clute wrote an editorial that year for Lawyer's Weekly that stressed the need to extend the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. It received little response.
``But in 1988, childhood sexual abuse was close to being a nonissue,'' Clute said.
Then a succession of television programs brought attention and heightened awareness. By 1991, sexual abuse had turned into a public issue.
``We just needed to wait and let it incubate a while before pursuing it with the legislature,'' Clute said.
With Clute's help, state Sen. Joseph Gartlan, a Democrat from Fairfax County, drafted legislation, later enacted, that extended the statute of limitations for survivors of sexual abuse.
Meanwhile, Hill was struggling with a life damaged by an extended period of sexual abuse during her pre-adolescent years in a quiet middle-class neighborhood near Langley Air Force Base. Although Hill repressed memories of the abuse as she grew up, it haunted her in insidious ways, ruining her relationships with men and affecting both her mental and physical health.
It wasn't until she was 25 that Hill sought psychiatric help and began dealing with the root of her problem. She eventually contacted her abuser's daughter and enlisted her help. The daughter had also been abused by her father.
The two decided to seek a remedy.
When Hill found out about the new law, she contacted Clute and offered to be the first plaintiff in what would be the test case of the new law.
``Margie had an excellent case,'' Clute said. ``She had all the factors, including corroborating evidence and injuries.''
Hill and the man's daughter soon learned they were not the only victims. In all, four other young women eventually came forward.
In 1991, Clute and Hill filed a civil lawsuit in Hampton. Circuit Judge Nelson T. Overton dismissed the suit three months later. Clute appealed the lawsuit to the Virginia Supreme Court, which affirmed Overton's ruling in June 1992.
The court maintained that the molester's civil rights would be violated by the lawsuit because Gartlan's legislation had not been in effect at the time of the abuse.
After the rebuff on the civil side, Hill and the other women abused by the man charged him criminally. The 64-year-old pleaded guilty in 1993 to six felony charges and was sentenced to 39 years in prison.
Last year, Clute urged Gartlan to attack the civil problem from another angle. In response, Gartlan sponsored a measure to amend the Virginia Constitution. It passed with 11 dissenting votes and then passed again in 1994, qualifying it for a referendum.
The proposed amendment has been endorsed by groups including the Medical Society of Virginia and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, and numerous newspapers, Clute said.
Those who have opposed the proposal seem to be worried that it will promote false claims driven by greed, she said. But that won't happen, according to Hill.
``I don't think cases are going to be created out of vengeance, because they won't be able to prove them,'' Hill said.
Hill says that if the amendment passes, she will not sue her abuser again. Fighting the battle, she says, has allowed her to heal her mind, body and soul and to become a living symbol of the movement to reform sexual abuse laws.
``If people could see what I have been through and what he has done . . . for his selfish reason, they could understand the need to go to court,'' Hill said. ``I needed to be heard.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Sylvia Clute: ``Childhood sexual abuse was close to being a
nonissue.''
Photo
Marjorie Hill helped lead the push for the amendment.
KEYWORDS: AMENDMENT REFERENDUM
SEXUAL ABUSE CHILD ABUSE
by CNB