BOSTON (MA)
Lowell Sun [Lowell, MA]
October 18, 2026
Will time finally be on the side of child sexual-abuse victims?
A powerful new survey from the MassINC Polling Group has clearly revealed the public’s overwhelming support to see abusers pay for their heinous acts — no matter how long it takes.
According to the poll, an astonishing 84% of respondents strongly or somewhat support eliminating the statute of limitations for filing a civil complaint alleging child sexual abuse. This is not a partisan issue, nor is it a minor policy debate. It is a resounding moral mandate.
Currently, Massachusetts law dictates a 35-year statute of limitations for these civil cases, a countdown clock that ticks into effect the moment an alleged victim turns 18.
To an outside observer, 35 years might seem like an ample window of time to come forward, seek legal counsel, and file a complaint. But this perspective fundamentally misunderstands the reality of trauma.
Psychology and lived experiences have proven that it often takes decades for survivors to process, let alone speak out about, the horrors inflicted upon them in their youth. Fear, shame, repressed memories, and the immense power dynamics wielded by abusers can keep a victim silent for a lifetime.
Justice should not have an expiration date, and our laws should reflect that reality.
The urgency of this reform has never been timelier — or glaring.
These poll results arrive in the immediate, agonizing wake of a scathing report released by the state Attorney General’s Office. The investigation concluded that more than 270 Catholic clerics abused 944 children within the Catholic dioceses of Fall River, Springfield and Worcester.
It is a staggering, heartbreaking number that exposes decades of systemic, institutional betrayal. These children were failed by the adults they were taught to trust, and they continue to be failed by a legal system that shields their abusers behind procedural technicalities.
While the AG’s investigation tracked historical abuse dating back generations, a significant concentration of the documented cases took place in the decades leading up to 2002, coinciding with the disclosure of systemic child sex abuse at its coverup in the Boston Archdiocese.
That year marked a major attitude adjustment in the Catholic Church, which adopted national reforms following widespread public exposure, which led Massachusetts to strengthen its child protection laws.
Fortunately, some lawmakers are listening. The House version of ongoing primary-care legislation already includes language designed to eliminate the statute of limitations entirely. Meanwhile, state Sen. Joan Lovely, D-Salem, who has bravely and openly shared her own experiences as a survivor of child sexual abuse, has sponsored a bill containing similar provisions.
Yet, despite this courageous leadership and overwhelming public consensus, Lovely’s bill remains among several similar pieces of legislation currently stalled in the State House. Why? What could possibly justify further delay when nearly 1,000 children in our own backyard have been verified as victims of institutional rot?
Every day these bills languish in committee is another day the state implicitly tells countless survivors that their window for accountability has closed.
Eliminating the statute of limitations moving forward is only half the battle. The pending legislation wisely includes a vital look-back provision: it would open a two-year window allowing survivors to revive civil claims that have already expired under the current 35-year law.
This look-back period is a necessary act of legal restitution. It acknowledges that the previous law was inadequate and offers a lifeline to those who were locked out of the courtroom simply because their trauma took 36 years to process instead of 35.
Furthermore, accountability cannot stop at the individual perpetrator. The MassINC poll also revealed that 93% of respondents agree that organizations that knowingly enable sexual abuse and fail to protect children must be held legally and financially responsible.
True justice requires dismantling the institutional cover that allowed sexual predators to hide in plain sight. For generations, powerful entities — from religious denominations to youth sports leagues — have used their immense resources to silence victims, shift blame and obfuscate actions of abusive actors.
If an organization chose to protect its reputation over the bodies and minds of vulnerable children, it deserves to face the full, unbridled weight of civil litigation.
Thirty-five years may look like a long time on paper, but the scars of childhood sexual abuse never truly fade. The public has spoken with absolute clarity.
Catholic church groups across the country have opposed similar legislative reforms, arguing the move could saddle them with the responsibility and liability of defending against claims that are decades old.
We have no sympathy for the burden this legislation would place on an organization that for decades abdicated its responsibility to protect the most vulnerable in their pastoral care.
There should be no time limit on forcing abusers and their enablers to pay for their crimes.
The Legislature should view these poll results as a collective wakeup call and act on the substance of these stalled bills.
Lawmakers must show they stand firmly with these victims, who require healing and open-ended accountability.