Earlier this week, Spectrum News reporter Jaclyn Cangro and our original programming unit, debuted a thirty-minute documentary highlighting a major loophole that allowed private schools to not report allegations of sexual abuse. 

At the time of its airing, a bill sat on the governor's desk to close that loophole. Friday, it was signed. 

Now, we are getting a reaction from the focal point of that documentary, Kat Sullivan — a woman who says she was raped at Emma Willard, a private school in Troy, two decades ago. 

And although she says there is a lot more work to be done, Friday when Cuomo signed the Senate Bill S7372, was at least a step in the right direction.

“People would just assume, a private school was a mandated reporter because its an educational institution, but that is false. It's true today, it was not true yesterday," Sullivan said.

Governor Cuomo gave a voice to the voiceless by signing the bill to law for many like Sullivan. 

“I'm really glad that we have a win behind us. I think it's really great to go into the new year feeling like there’s forward momentum,” Sullivan said. “Now the resources will be internal as well as external, and that’s important in keeping a checks and balance and keeping things honest."

After signing the bill into law, Governor Cuomo said in part, "We will continue to do everything in our power to combat child abuse and keep our young people safe.”

That, Sullivan says, is where the momentum could make an even bigger impact.

The Child Victims Act is a bill that would, in part, extend the age limit for bringing in a civil or criminal complaint against someone for sexual abuse of a child. Sullivan says turning the bill into law is next on her agenda.

“We have to have legislation that takes a look at these events in history and determines whether there is fault, and if there is fault not just assigning it to be punitive. But we need to look at this data and see how these failures occurred, because we need to make this system better," Sullivan said.