New York Courts Flooded with Sex Abuse Suits After Child Victims Act Launches

August 23, 2019

The New York State legislature passed the Child Victims Act (CVA) earlier this year to give victims of child sexual abuse the ability to seek justice and hold their abusers accountable years after the previous statute of limitations would allow.

The CVA went into effect on August 14, 2019 and provides a one year window for any adult survivor of child sexual abuse to initiate civil court action against their abuser or any negligent institution, no matter how long ago the incident occurred and no matter how old the victim is now.

Thousands of claims are expected to be filed in the coming year. The Wall Street Journal reported that nearly 430 lawsuits were filed on the first day the CVA was enacted. The state court system is expecting so many lawsuits to be filed that it designated 45 judges to deal exclusively with CVA cases. According to a CNN article, suits are expected to be filed against the Archdiocese of New York, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Rockefeller University, the Boy Scouts, Jeffrey Epstein and others.

Moving forward, the law has extended the statute of limitations on reporting child sexual abuse crimes to the age of 28 in criminal cases and the age of 55 in civil cases. This is in addition to the one year window that allows victims regardless of age or how long ago the incident happened to file a civil suit.

Contact Baron & Budd

Victims of these types of sexual abuse have suffered in silence long enough. If you are a victim, you should know there is something that may be done to ease your pain and suffering. You may be able to seek justice for the emotional and physical harm inflicted upon you and for the betrayal by those you should have been able to trust. Let the experienced attorneys at Baron & Budd fight for you. Call us at (866) 691-7631 or online.

FREE CASE EVALUATION

Step 1 of 4

Were you or a loved one sexually abused by a priest or other person of authority?*
In which state is the church or institution located?*

First Name*
Last Name*
Email*
Phone*

Address*
City*
State*
Zip*

Please list a few details about your case:
Email List
Receive emails from Baron & Budd?
- Yes
- No
Texting
Receive text messages from Baron & Budd?
- Yes
- No
Phone
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Illinois Attorney General: Catholic Church Under-Reported Abuse Claims

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan recently made some startling accusations against the Catholic Church. According to Madigan, the Church has failed to report a substantial number of cases of...

Journalists Find Priests Accused of Child Sex Abuse Are Still Working and Living Around Children

The Associated Press recently released a frightening article after nine months of researching the locations and occupations of ousted priests accused of sexual misconduct. The journalists...

U.S. Gymnasts Argue for Changes in Bill to Help Child Sexual Abuse Victims

Last week, three former U.S. team gymnasts went before the Texas Senate to argue for a bill that would increase the statute of limitations for victims of sexual abuse. This would give victims more...

Sex Abuse by State

Sexual Abuse