NEW JERSEY
The Record
[A2405]
BY COLLEEN DISKIN
STAFF WRITER
The Record
Child sexual-abuse victims told state lawmakers Thursday that they were denied the chance to exact justice from the churches, schools and other organizations that failed to protect them because of a two-year limit on their rights to file civil cases.
After the sometimes tearful testimony, the Assembly Judiciary Committee voted 5-2 in favor of a bill that would lift that time limit for such lawsuits against alleged abusers as well as the institutions that employed them. The bill also would establish a two-year window for anyone to refile a suit that was dismissed because the statute of limitations had expired.
Critics – including the Catholic Church – argued that the measure could lead to a flood of lawsuits from people who claimed to have been abused decades ago, cases that would be hard to prove and expensive to litigate.
Supporters said the only way victims can make organizations responsible for improving their screening and supervision of employees who work with children is to allow victims to pursue civil judgments against them.
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