NEW MEXICO
KOB

Chris Ramirez
March 15, 2017

Many times, victims of childhood sex abuse don’t come forward about the abuse until they are adults, years after it happens. In fact, that happens very frequently.

Senate Bill 91 aims to help victims get through the legal process of holding their predators accountable.

“This is an epidemic,” said Levi Monagle, an attorney who has represented dozens of adults who were victimized as children. “One in five children will be sexually abused before the age of 18 and only 12 percent of that abuse is ever reported to authorities.”

Right now, New Mexico’s statute of limitations to allow a victim to hold his or her abuser accountable in civil court is vague. Sometimes victims are turned away by lawyers because New Mexico’s laws aren’t on their side.