MINNESOTA
Post-Bulletin
Posted: Friday, May 31, 2013
In a resounding display of bipartisanship, the Minnesota Legislature has allowed childhood sexual abuse victims a chance to seek justice that was once denied.
The Child Victims Act, which passed the Senate unanimously and the House by an overwhelming 123-3 vote, lifts the civil statute of limitations that prevented anyone 24 or older from filing a lawsuit over sexual abuse that occurred while they were children.
That gave childhood sexual abuse victims just a six-year window to file a civil lawsuit after becoming an adult. The six-year limit is the same time frame that applies to fraud and product liability lawsuits. We strongly believe that childhood victims — who take years, often decades, to come to terms with the sexual abuse they suffered — deserve more consideration than that.
Most Minnesotans agree. A survey by the National Center for Victims for Crime found that 63 percent of Minnesota residents believe child sex-abuse victims should, at any time, be able to sue their abuser or the organization that employed them.
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