New York expects flood of child sex abuse lawsuits

The Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts, schools and hospitals are expected to be hit by hundreds of lawsuits under a new law lifting the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse cases. A plethora of civil lawsuits are expected to be filed in New York by victims who suffered sexual assault and are ascertaining the blame on various institutions. Lawmakers recently passed the Child Victims Act lifting the statute of limitations that had prevented litigation against decades-old crimes of child sexual abuse.

The law also extended the statute of limitations for new victims to file civil lawsuits until the age of 55 and until the age of 28 to seek criminal charges. Previously, victims of child sexual abuse had until the age of 23 to file criminal charges or seek damages in civil lawsuits. Advocates and mental health experts for trauma victims say it can take years for those abused to open up about what they were subjected too. In order to help heal the pain, many victims are seeking compensation and filing lawsuits and proceeding in litigation to seek justice.

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