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Bill extending statute of limitations for child sex abuse survivors clears Missouri House

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missouriindependent.com – Clara Bates – 2025-02-20 13:54:00

Bill extending statute of limitations for child sex abuse survivors clears Missouri House

by Clara Bates, Missouri Independent
February 20, 2025

The Missouri House on Thursday approved a proposal to extend the civil statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Filed by state Rep. Brian Seitz, a Republican from Branson, the bill would extend the amount of time survivors have to file civil action against a perpetrator. Survivors would have until age 41 to file civil action, rather than age 31. 

Seitz’s bill was inspired by sexual abuse allegations at Kanakuk Kamps, in the Branson area.

The legislation that contained Seitz’s bill passed out of the House on Thursday 92 to 42, with 24 voting present. The opposition, from Democrats and Republicans alike, was due to parts of the bill unrelated to the childhood sexual abuse piece.

It now heads to the Senate for consideration.

In 2023, the bill didn’t receive a vote in the House until May, when session was nearly over, and never got to a committee hearing in the Senate. Last year, the bill never came to a vote in the House. 

Seitz’s bill hasn’t had a committee hearing this year but was passed out of committee unanimously in the last two years. 

Opposition in previous years has come primarily from insurance companies raising concerns about being exposed to liability. 

The legislation was tacked on as an amendment to another bill filed by state Rep. Matthew Overcast, a Republican from Ava.

“This amendment is not the perfect fix,” Seitz said during debate on the House floor earlier this week. “It’s a start. And it gives victims time and hope…I ask this body to, once again, in a bipartisan manner, do what’s right and help those who were harmed as children.”

Personal injury claims

The underlying bill relates to statutes of limitations for personal injury claims, which are governed by a separate legal framework than childhood sexual abuse claims. 

Overcast’s bill reduces Missouri’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims from five years down to two years, meaning individuals would have less time to file a lawsuit after an injury.

Overcast said it would help the state compete economically and help small businesses protect themselves against frivolous lawsuits.

“It’s good, sound legal policy,” Overcast said Thursday. “It promotes the economic viability of our state, puts us in a place to compete with our neighboring border states who are well below our current five year statute of limitations.”

Missouri’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims is higher than all but two states, Maine and North Dakota.

Opponents said the change would stymie access to justice for those who are injured and seeking redress.

“This is designed to protect insurance companies, not you,” said state Rep. David Tyson Smith, a Democrat from Columbia. “If you get injured, you need that time, five years is not overly generous.”

Several lawmakers said they support the amendment to extend the statute of limitations for childhood sex abuse survivors but not the underlying bill to reduce the statute of limitations for personal injury.

“The problem I have with this is the amendment is so good,” Smith said. “I may have to vote ‘present’ on this because of the great amendment that’s on this. 

“And I know that, probably, there’s a strategy behind that.”

The bill was heard immediately after the House approved legislation to protect a pesticide maker from charges that it didn’t warn customers that one of its most popular products causes cancer, which state Rep. Raychel Proudie pointed out.

“When someone hurts you, you should certainly be able to seek justice. Justice is something that we should be entitled to,” said Proudie, a Ferguson Democrat. “Reducing that here is kind of breathtaking.”

State Rep. Michael Davis, a Republican from Belton, said the two components of the bill are inconsistent.

“I’m wondering, how can it be both that it’s good to lower the statute of limitations for personal injury,” he said, “but it’s also, on the other side, good to be doubling the statute of limitations for the child offenses, which do not start running until they become an adult?”

Overcast replied that he doesn’t “see them both in the same lens.”

“I’m looking at this through economic vitality for the state perspective,” Overcast said, adding that lowering the statute of limitations for personal injury claims will incentivize people to bring claims earlier.

“We’re trying to pass smart policy in this state that allows businesses to grow without burdening access to justice, and this bill does that,” Overcast said.

When state Democratic state Rep. LaKeySha Bosley asked Seitz whether there were other possible avenues for his bill, he said “this may be the last time this year.”

Seitz urged members to vote for the bill and said once it is in the Senate’s hands, “it will be changed in some way, hopefully making it more palatable for all sides.” 

He added: “Let us not make perfect the enemy of the good. This is the vehicle in which we can give these adult children a chance.”

Child sex abuse survivors

Rep. Brian Seitz, R-Branson, presents his bill to extend the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 13, 2023 (Clara Bates/Missouri Independent).

According to the nonprofit child protection advocacy group Child USA, Missouri is currently one of 18 states with the age cap set at 34 years old or younger — which the group ranks as the worst states in terms of statutes of limitations for child sex abuse survivors.

At Seitz’s bill’s initial hearing in 2023, former Kanakuk Kamps camper Evan Hoffpauir testified about the impact of Missouri’s statute of limitations on him.

For more than a decade, Hoffpauir believed the camp director who sexually abused him at the Branson-area Kanakuk Kamps had acted alone. 

As a child growing up in Branson, he was involved with Kanakuk’s youth ministries, and said he was abused by Kanakuk director Pete Newman from 1999 to 2003. Newman pleaded guilty in 2010 to seven counts of sexual abuse, and the prosecutor said Newman’s victim count might be in the hundreds. 

Newman is currently serving two life sentences plus 30 years in prison. 

Kanakuk leadership maintains that they had no advanced knowledge of his behavior, and Newman was a “master of deception.” 

Initially, Hoffpauir believed them. 

“[Leadership] stated they fired Newman as soon as they were aware of his abusive behaviors, and that he acted alone,”  Hoffpauir said at that hearing. “And I believed this narrative for over a decade.”

But when he came to believe camp leadership was responsible, too, it was too late: But by the time new evidence was uncovered through national media investigations, Hoffpauir was too old to file a civil suit against the camp and its leadership.

“As I sought out legal action in an effort to hold my enablers accountable, I was crushed to find out I was a few years past Missouri’s statute of limitations,” Hoffpauir said.

“The law was telling me there was nothing to be done about it,” he added, “and the clock had run out on me.”

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Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com.

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Ex-Manchester police captain sues city, claims he was forced to resign

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fox2now.com – Joey Schneider – 2025-07-10 13:23:00

SUMMARY: Craig Smith, former captain and deputy chief of the Manchester Police Department, filed a lawsuit claiming he was coerced into resigning in July 2024 without due process amid a city investigation. Smith alleges city officials, including the mayor and city manager, pressured him by threatening criminal charges despite the investigation focusing on minor, non-criminal leadership issues. He claims he was denied a chance to defend himself and that officials damaged his reputation by telling prospective employers he resigned “under investigation.” Smith seeks compensation for lost wages, emotional distress, and harm to his career. The city plans to defend the lawsuit.

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Kathy Kaiser returns with some film reviews of some new releases

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www.youtube.com – FOX 2 St. Louis – 2025-07-10 10:15:59

SUMMARY: Kathy Kaiser reviews new releases, starting with tonight’s Cardinals vs. Nationals game, hoping for a strong batting performance in hot weather. She discusses the new Superman film, directed by James Gunn from St. Louis, praising David Corenswet’s portrayal though missing more Clark Kent focus. The film introduces many characters for the evolving DC Universe, earning 4 out of 5 popcorn. Kathy also highlights a Nat Geo documentary on Steven Spielberg’s filmmaking challenges, rating it 5 out of 5. The documentary, co-produced by Amblin, offers a compelling behind-the-scenes look and streams on Disney Plus and Hulu. More reviews to come.

ST. LOUIS – Looking for a new movie to watch? Kathy Kaiser shares her thoughts on new releases such as Superman, The Better Sister, and Jaws @ 50, an anniversary celebration and re-release of Jaws (1975).

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Missouri Education Commissioner unwraps vision for state education department

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missouriindependent.com – Annelise Hanshaw – 2025-07-10 07:00:00


Missouri Commissioner of Education Karla Eslinger, after a year in her role, outlined her priorities during a State Board of Education retreat. She emphasized the need to overhaul support for “chronically low-performing schools,” criticizing the current “cookie cutter” approach and calling for customized, comprehensive intervention plans. Board member Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge highlighted the benefits of hands-on assistance seen in Illinois. Eslinger also addressed federal challenges, proposing centralized management of federal programs. She stressed improving data systems for better education transparency and enhancing public communication, including hiring a new communications director. Eslinger requested annual evaluations for the commissioner role to ensure accountability.

by Annelise Hanshaw, Missouri Independent
July 10, 2025

Missouri should revisit the way it supports “chronically low-performing schools” over the coming year, state Commissioner of Education Karla Eslinger said as she unveiled her priorities in a State Board of Education meeting Wednesday.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s current approach is “cookie cutter,” she said, lacking individual supports customized to struggling schools.

“When you have a school district in crisis, there’s not a real plan on how to address that,” Eslinger said. “So we need to have a more comprehensive plan to address that.”

Board member Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge, of Pasadena Hills, underlined the importance of careful intervention.

Westbrooks-Hodge spoke about a conversation she had with a school superintendent who worked in an Illinois district east of St. Louis when it lost accreditation.

“She described an intense, hands-on approach with the state of Illinois walking hand in hand,” Westbrooks-Hodge said. “She asked why that approach wasn’t done with underperforming school districts in Missouri.”

There are also challenges coming from the federal level with “disruption” in the U.S. Department of Education, Eslinger said. The department is “struggling to draw down federal dollars more consistently.”

She suggested “a shift in the way we manage our federal programs,” such as consolidating programs in a centralized application.

The department should also improve its data handling, she said, adding that DESE “needs to be much better and much more efficient in its data system.”

“I don’t know how many times I sat on the Senate floor, and I didn’t have the ability to rebut somebody’s idea of what was happening in public education because we don’t have the data,” Eslinger said.

The department also needs to improve its website and increase connectivity with the public.

There will be noticeable changes in the communications department, she said. Currently, the department is looking for a new director of communications.

“We have been responsive to people who have questions, but we haven’t talked to the state as a whole,” she said.

She has asked the state board to conduct annual evaluations of the commissioner, which the board wasn’t doing when she took office last year.

The board is meeting Wednesday and Thursday as part of a board retreat to reorient members to the expectations and responsibilities of the board. Half of the board are new appointees, and the department has a number of high-ranking employees in new positions.

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Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com.

The post Missouri Education Commissioner unwraps vision for state education department appeared first on missouriindependent.com



Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article presents a straightforward report on Missouri’s Commissioner of Education Karla Eslinger’s priorities and comments regarding public education challenges without adopting a partisan tone. It focuses on administrative improvements, data management, and tailored support for low-performing schools, avoiding ideological framing or partisan language. The coverage reflects neutral, fact-based reporting, emphasizing practical issues within the education system rather than aligning with a specific political agenda. The inclusion of multiple viewpoints and detailed explanations supports a balanced presentation.

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