Audio has resurfaced of North Carolina Supreme Court candidate Sarah Stevens dismissing survivors of childhood abuse, characterizing them as people who are chasing hefty payouts from organizations with “deep pockets.”
The audio stems from a 2019 speech that Stevens delivered in the NC General Assembly. The legislature was debating the SAFE Child Act– a bill that was meant to protect children and provide survivors more time to seek justice.
The original version of the bill extended the statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual abuse to sue their abusers, as well as institutions associated with the abuse, until age 38. Stevens found an issue with the amount of time that the bill allotted survivors to sue their abusers.
In an interview with WRAL, Stevens called the bill a “nightmare” for those accused of sexually abusing children. “All you have to do is swear it happened,” Stevens said.
Stevens’ speech on the floor of the NCGA largely centered on how organizations, from Boy Scouts of America to the Catholic Church, have financially compensated survivors of sexual abuse. “They’re looking for those deep pockets,” Stevens said of survivors.
“They’re all filing bankruptcy,” Stevens says of the organizations. “This is about money.”
The resurfaced audio adds another layer of criticism to Stevens’ campaign for NC Supreme Court, which has been riddled with questions over the candidate’s connections with sexual predators and child abusers.
As a lawyer in private practice, Stevens chose to defend a teacher who was accused of sexually abusing three young girls. The teacher ultimately pleaded guilty to three counts of statutory rape, three counts of sex offense with a student, and five counts of taking indecent liberties with a student.
As a legislator, Stevens was not only an outspoken critic of the SAFE Child Act, but she also blocked another bill that was meant to protect foster children from abuse. According to a WRAL documentary, Stevens blocked the bill because it was “too broad” and that it would give the NC Department of Health and Human Services too much power.
And as a candidate, Stevens fundraised alongside Harvey West– a convicted sex offender who served six years in prison for taking indecent liberties with a child. Stevens claimed that she didn’t know West, but she was Facebook friends with him and had appeared on his wife’s podcast to promote the fundraiser.
Katie Trout, a survivor and advocate for victims of childhood sexual abuse, is one of the North Carolinians speaking out against Stevens’ campaign to join the state’s highest court. Back in 2019, Trout was advocating to legislators for the SAFE Child Act. She named Stevens as “probably the biggest impediment to [the legislation] passing.”
In a recent interview with WUNC, Stevens was asked about her opposition to an early version of the SAFE Child Act. “I honestly don’t remember it,” Stevens said.
While Stevens claims to have forgotten the legislation, survivors like Katie Trout have not.
“ I hope that before you go into the voting booth, you will just think about all the people you know who have been impacted by sexual assault and abuse, and just think about the impacts that your vote does have on them,” Trout said. “There are real-life consequences for who we vote for and who we put into office.”
