UNITED STATES
Legal Examiner (law firm blog)
August 11, 2020
By Joseph H. Saunders
In a recent 2019 summary of changes in statutes of limitation for child sex abuse, written by CHILDUSA, 41 states had either changed their statutes of limitations or had bills pending to do so. In the past two years 15 states have extended or suspended statute of limitations to allow child sex abuse claims stretching back decades, unleashing potentially thousands of new lawsuits against the U.S. Roman Catholic Church.
More importantly “lookback windows” have been established by eight states and the District of Columbia. These “windows” allow victims of sexual abuse to sue no matter how long ago the alleged abuse took place. Victims can file civil suits against both their alleged abusers such as priests and the church or other institutions where they worked.
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