The Los Angeles Times reported on a slew of new laws going into effect this year. One may be of particular interest to former Cinefamily staff and volunteers.
Sexual assault reporting: A two-year window is opening to report sexual assault claims — cases that previously would have been barred because of the statute of limitations — against private employers or institutions that engaged in a “cover-up.” The time frame [to file a suit] starts Jan. 1 and expires Dec. 31, 2027. AB 250 applies to those who were assaulted after age 18. (The state already created an extension for child sexual assault victims in 2020.) “AB 250 gives those who’ve been silenced by intimidation, shame, or institutional cover-ups another shot at justice, because survivors deserve to be heard, believed, and supported,” Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia M. Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) said in October.
A note on the future of this website:
This website was first published within months of Cinefamily’s closure, at a time when Cinefamily’s founders (Dan and Sammy Harkham) were attempting to rebrand and reboot Cinefamily—maintaining operating control of the new entity (Fairfax Theater) without dealing with the fallout from Cinefamily’s abuses. For a variety of reasons—mainly Covid, the reporting at this website, and their own ineptitude—the Harkhams have by all accounts thrown in the towel and are not involved in Brain Dead Studios (other than as landlords).
In the coming months the look of this website will change. Ongoing reporting—and the news ticker feed structure—is no longer central to Cinefamily Accountability’s mission. We will seek to restructure the website to simply tell the story of what happened at Cinefamily, how corporate and regulatory systems failed, and the significant institutional (and personal) accountability that remains outstanding. If you have thoughts on the direction of this website, please drop us a note!