The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) is urging the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Judiciary Subcommittee to pass the Amy and Vicky Child Sexual Assault Material Victim Restitution Improvement Act of 2014 (S. 2301/H.R. 4981). On October 15, 2014, NAAG sent an official letter of support for the Amy and Vicky Act to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA).
This letter of support, which was signed by the attorneys general of 44 U.S. states and territories, explains that the Amy and Vicky Act would provide the subjects of child sexual assault material “with meaningful restitution from the multiple defendants who produce, distribute or possess images of child sexual assault material, including those who have not been identified.”
Amy and Vicky Act Could Eliminate Current Hurdles to Obtaining Restitution, NAAG Explains
Currently, if the subjects of child sexual assault material choose to pursue restitution from the defendants who have viewed their images, they are forced to “pursue a continuous stream of defendants, recovering very little in each case.” As this letter of support for the Amy and Vicky Act points out, this process will inevitably have such high emotional and financial costs that it will end up de-incentivizing the subjects of child sexual assault material from seeking the restitution they need to pay for therapy and other care essential to getting them on the path to recovery.
Additionally, NAAG explains that “viewingchild sexual assault material is not a victimless crime” and that “the marketing, trading and possession of child sexual assault material perpetuate a market that leads to the harm of increasing numbers of children.” What may be just as tragic as this is the fact that the subjects of child sexual assault material “are constantly reminded of the abuse of their past” and that “there is no way to erase the photographs from the Internet or prevent them from being shared.”
Passing the Amy and Vicky Act could start to slowly reverse this cycle of abuse by making the people who view child sexual assault material accountable for paying restitution to the subjects trying to overcome their past abuse.
At the Savage Law Firm, we fully support NAAG’s efforts to get the Amy and Vicky Act passed and to help the subjects of child sexual assault material obtain the full amount of compensation they deserve so they can focus on their recovery and future.
To see a full copy of NAAG’s letter of support to Congress, click Final Amy and Vicky Letter.
Portland Child Sex Abuse Lawyers at the Savage Law Firm
If you or someone you love has been the subject of child sexual assault material or child sex abuse, you can count on us to advocate your rights and help you hold your abusers accountable in civil court. For more than 30 years, the Portland child sex abuse attorneys at the Savage Law Firm have been dedicated to:
- Defending the rights of sexual abuse survivors
- Helping them shed light on the heinous actions of their abusers
- Ultimately helping them obtain both the justice and compensation they need and deserve.
Although we understand that no amount of money can ever make up for child sex abuse, we also know that helping abuse survivors obtain compensation from their abusers can be pivotal to getting access to the counseling and other long-term treatments they may need to deal with the psychological damage caused by the abuse. One of our central goals is to help child sex abuse survivors get the justice they need so they can reclaim their lives and futures.
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We represent clients in Oregon and Washington from our offices in Portland and Seattle.
