TAMPA (FL)
Legal Examiner – Saunders and Walker
December 6, 2019
By Joseph H. Saunders
Five years ago, such a thing would have been unimaginable. I have been an abuse survivor advocate and attorney for the past twenty years and the rapid change in state laws and the public’s perception of childhood sexual abuse has forced the Catholic Church to offer compensation funds in all the dioceses of New York, some in Pennsylvania and California in order to stave off civil lawsuits.
New York was the first state this year to provide a “look back” window for a period of one year which ends August 15, 2020. The “look back” provision of the Child Victims Act allows all survivors to file a lawsuit against the offending institution such as the Catholic Church in spite of the statute of limitations. On December 1, 2019, New Jersey opened a “look back” period of two years while California will offer a three year “look back” beginning in January 2020. Vermont completely abolished the statute of limitations for childhood abuse cases.
In total, eight states have opened “look back” windows, which allow adult victims of sex abuse to come forward with allegations from their childhoods, even if they have passed the statute of limitations. Seven more states have significantly relaxed their statutes of limitations, allowing victims to come forward much later in life than previous laws had allowed.
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