Senator Wallace introduces bill to protect survivor rights

Little Rock - Arkansas State Senator David Wallace (R-19th Dist.), along with House sponsor, State Representative Jimmy Gazaway (R-31st Dist.), has filed a new bill to protect the rights of more than 500 Arkansas survivors of child sexual abuse in Scouting who currently have claims pending in the Boy Scouts Bankruptcy Settlement Trust.

This bill, SB13, is the third bill sponsored by Wallace and Gazaway in recent years, designed to protect Arkansas children from sexual abuse and to protect the rights of survivors of sexual abuse. In 2021, the Justice for Vulnerable Victims of Sexual Abuse Act was signed into law with near unanimous bi-partisan support. In 2023, an amended version was passed also with unanimous bi-partisan support. As a result of these excellent legislative acts, there is no longer a statute of limitations for victims of child sexual abuse in Arkansas moving forward.

Additionally, the Act provided a two-year “lookback window” in recognition of the fact that the psychological damage done by child sexual abuse often makes it difficult for victims to come forward about their abuse until well into adulthood. In the United States, more than half of child sexual abuse victims first report their abuse after age 50. During the “lookback window,” which closes on Jan. 31, 2026, survivors of any age can confront their abusers no matter how long ago the child sexual abuse occurred.

“It is important to remember that the Act does more than simply provide victims the right to confront their perpetrators in court. It is also a potentially powerful deterrent to would-be child predators currently residing within our borders, which helps keep Arkansas children safe,” says Rep. Gazaway.

The potential deterrent effect of this cannot be overstated, nor can the need for this type of legislation in Arkansas. Recent studies show that Arkansas has the highest rate of child sexual abuse reports in the nation with 267 cases per 100,000 children reported, more than triple the national rate. Arkansas also has the second-highest rate of sex offenders residing within its borders, with over 19,000.

This includes James “Darrell” Nesmith, a convicted child sex offender and former pediatrician, who has filed a legal challenge to prevent his child victims from having the right to sue him now that they have grown up. In doing so, Nesmith is also saying that these more than 500 Arkansas men who suffered child sexual abuse while participating in Scouting should be denied the right to receive compensation, which they have already been awarded in the Boy Scouts Bankruptcy Settlement Trust.

SB13 is a separate and narrowly tailored piece of legislation from the previous efforts, designed to preserve and protect awards already obtained by Arkansas victims in the Boy Scouts Bankruptcy Trust. These victims have already bravely faced their abusers and won their settlements. Their already-won compensation is in jeopardy if Mr. Nesmith is successful in his attempt to have the Justice for Vulnerable Victims Act declared unconstitutional by the Arkansas Court of Appeals.

Nesmith will be making his argument to the Arkansas Court of Appeals at a hearing on Jan. 22, where he will ask the court to strike down the Justice for Vulnerable Victims of Sexual Abuse Act, so that his victims cannot sue him for money damages and so that the more than 500 survivors of Scouting abuse in Arkansas are left empty-handed.

If Nesmith prevails in his attempt to deny victims their right to confront abusers, nearly all of the money awarded to these Arkansans will instead go to victims from other states.

“The Justice for Vulnerable Victims of Sexual Abuse Act is among the most significant pieces of legislation I have been a part of,” says Senator Wallace. “It makes children in Arkansas safer. What can possibly be more important than that? Certainly not the wishes of Mr. Nesmith or other convicted sex offenders here in Arkansas.”

“I am hopeful the Arkansas high courts will uphold the Act, and choose the rights of the victims over those of the predator,” says Wallace.