Many Puerto Rican professionals are required by law to report child sex abuse. This is an important law because these people have a tremendous ammount of contact with and influence over children. These professionals include social workers, teachers and school employees, medical professionals such as physicians, nurses, mental health care professionals, child care providers, and even coroners.
This law is not confined to just the above listed professions. Some other people affected by this law include commercial film or photograph processors, drug or alcohol abuse counselors, and other such proffessionals who come in contact with children. In fact any person who suspects child sex abuse is required to report it to the authorities in Puerto Rico. This includes clergy and church officials. Sadly, too many instances of clergy abuse have been reported in Puerto Rico
Take the recent case of two Puerto Rican reverends arrested for sexually abusing 4 young girls, Jose Florencio Martinez Corvera and Manuel de la Cruz Sanchez Rivera. They were visiting priests, working at the La Monserrate parish of Jayuya. Clergy abuse is a horiffic crime, sexual abuse of children at the hands of trusted religious officials can completely destroy a young life. Bishop accountability may be lacking in Puerto Rico, but Sam Rogatinsky wants to see amy and all child sex abuse victims brought to justice. He want’s to help sex abuse victim’s of any type hold their abuser accountable, be the abuser a clergy member, a teacher, or a mental health official.
Clergy abuse and sex abuse lawyer Sam Rogatinsky wants survivors of sex abuse to get the vindication and the civil settlement that they deserve. Sam doesn’t just take on clergy abuse law suits. Sam will prosecute child sex abusers anywhere they can be found, from any walk of life. Sam once filed a sex abuse suit against a mental health facility abusing a patient. The Rogatinsky Firm files child sexual abuse cases against churches, church officials, schools, teachers and administrators, hospitals and medical professionals, such as doctors, nurses and psychologists, mental health facilities, the Boy Scouts of America, even Boys and Girls Clubs and athletic organizations. Sexual abuse cannot and will not be tolerated by the Rogatinsky firm. Mr. Rogatinsky believes therapy and support are key to recovery too. He’ll help find a qualified therapist and will put you in touch with child sex abuse support groups like http://childmolestationprevention.org/.
The Statute of Limitations for Puerto Rico include:
- For crimes or attempted crimes of rape, incest, sodomy, lewd or indecent acts, child sex abuse or perversion of minors, under age prostitution or abuse, there is a 5 year Statute of Limitations if the sex abuse victim is older than 21 when the sex abuse crime was committed. If the sex abuse victim is not yet 21 or is mentally disabled or incapacitated, the Statute of Limitations begins to run within 5 years of the sex abuse victim’s 21st or from when the disability has cended. P.R. ANN. 33 §3412 Prescription
- Rape includes the following:
- If the female is not yet 14 years old.
- If she is not capable of giving legal consent.
- If she has been forced to endure intercourse through irresistible physical force or threat of grave bodily harm, accompanied by apparent power of execution;
- If she has been substantially overcome or her capacity to resist has been diminished substantially through hypnosis, narcotics, depressant, stimulant drugs or similar substances.
- If she was not aware of the nature of the sex abuse and/or the circumstance of the sex act was known by the sex abuser.
- If she submits believing the accused was her husband. R. ANN. 255 §4061 Rape
For the exact language of the Statutes, click here: http://www.rainn.org/files/reportingdatabase/PuertoRico/PuertoRicoStatueofLimitations.pdf
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