BALTIMORE (MD)
Catholic Review - Archdiocese of Baltimore [Baltimore MD]
May 1, 2025
By Christopher Gunty
Two years ago, Gov. Wes Moore signed into law the Child Victims Act, which enabled victims of child sexual abuse to sue their perpetrator and/or the institution responsible for supervising the perpetrator, no matter how long ago the abuse took place.
The law has created a fiscal crisis for the state due to the fact that thousands of victims have come forward, making claims against the state itself for abuse suffered largely in juvenile detention facilities.
In an attempt to undo the fiscal crisis the law created, the Maryland General Assembly passed House Bill 1378 in early April, just before the end of this year’s session. The bill reduces the cap for civil damages for child sexual abuse to $400,000 for public entities and $700,000 for private entities, including churches, parishes, private schools and nonprofits…