Secrecy Persists as Posh Dyker Heights Prep School settles lawsuit claiming its football coach had sexually abused hundreds of boys going all the way back to the 1960s

Terms of settlement involving Poly Prep were not disclosed  —  each of the victims had been seeking $20 million in damages  —  Case was “settled” after Federal Court let case go forward after stripping school of statute of limitation defense that local State Senator Martin Golden has long fought to keep in place

According to a December 26th Daily News article entitled “Poly Prep settles lawsuit claiming football coach Phil Foglietta sexually abused hundreds of boys,”  the Poly Prep Country Day School had been accused of turning a deaf ear to charges that the school's longtime football coach, Phil Foglietta, had sexually abused hundreds of boys over a 25-year period, putting the school's reputation and fund-raising efforts ahead of student safety.  [ttp://www.nydailynews.com/sports/i-team/poly-prep-settles-sex-abuse-suit-article- ... ]

The New York Times report on the settlement of the case made these very important observations: “[The plaintiffs’] case was almost blocked from going forward because of the statute of limitations. Indeed, a similar suit against Poly Prep in 2004 over the abuse was dismissed because the statute of limitations had been exceeded. ***  Survivors of sexual abuse that occurred while they were children must file a case by the time they are 23. But a federal judge, Frederic Block, ruled earlier this year that the school had actively covered up the abuse and that those actions had prevented the plaintiffs from bringing the case sooner.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/28/nyregion/sexual-abuse-case-at-poly-prep-in-brooklyn-is-settled.html

Legislative attempts to get around exactly this kind of problem have repeatedly been blocked by the Republican leadership in the New York State Senate. State Senator Martin Golden, in whose district Poly Prep is located, has been one state senator who’s been steadfast in blocking reforms like the Margaret Markey “Child Victims Act” that would assist victims from bringing lawsuits just like this one.

Earlier this year the Daily News reported that, “[The Margaret Markey ‘Child Victims Act’]... has passed the Assembly four times but has yet to clear the State Senate. ***  The bill would extend the statute of limitations by five years, until victims turn 28 years old, in civil and criminal cases. The bill would also suspend the civil statute of limitations for a one-year period to give victims a window to file suit against abusers, no matter how long ago the abuse occurred. State Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) has introduced similar legislation in the State Senate.”   http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/i-team/sexual-abuse-victims-voice-support-assembleywoman-margaret-markey-child-victims-act-article-1.1030288#ixzz2GK5S3iE3

State Senator Marty Golden has consistently opposed all of the Markey sex abuse victims' bills.