CALIFORNIA
Courthouse News Service
By ELIZABETH WARMERDAM
SACRAMENTO (CN) – A man who claims he was sexually abused, whipped and force fed by Jehovah’s Witnesses as a child must show why his claims are not time-barred, a federal judge ruled.
Cosme Presas, a state prisoner representing himself, claims that he was abused from 1994 through 1998 by congregation members and leaders of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheila Oberto dismissed Presas’ complaint without prejudice, and with leave to amend, finding that he failed to establish complete diversity of citizenship between the parties.
Presas, a California citizen, did not make clear in his pleadings whether the named defendants are all citizens of foreign states so as to invoke diversity jurisdiction.
In addition, Presas’ tort claims arise from alleged abuse occurring nearly two decades ago and therefore far exceed their applicable statute of limitations.
Although in California, the statute of limitations for such claims do not begin to run until a minor reaches the age of 18, Presas did not identify his age in his complaint.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.