When Chris Graham slides his tablet across the table to show lawmakers the police report detailing his rape, he sees their faces change.
That’s because in the report, there’s the account of someone who remembers seeing the perpetrator, a Catholic priest, chasing after a 14-year-old Graham and then grabbing him and trying to get him to go back into a private room at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Powell.
It's a powerful corroboration of his abuse in 1997 by the late Rev. Raymond Lavelle, Graham has found — as is the fact that the Delaware County Sheriff's Office and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus both declared the allegation credible.
Now, he's using it to raise awareness about clergy sexual abuse of minors and the Ohio laws that keep people like him from seeking justice.
“My goal is simple,” said Graham, now 39 and living in Westerville. “I’m going to change these laws, and I’m going to do it by befriending the right people, and I’m going to tell them my story so they know someone who’s been touched by this.”
Graham is referring to Ohio’s laws regarding victims of child sexual abuse, including statutes of limitations for reporting and damages caps.
The Ohio civil statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual abuse is capped at age 30 and its criminal statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual abuse is capped at age 43, with another five years granted if DNA is found within 25 years.
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Read Full Story: https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2021/09/08/chris-graham-leads-ohios-fight-against-priest-sex-abuse-statutes-limitation/8014830002/
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