JUSTICE AT LAST
Child Victims Act’s first wave of suits
The state’s Child Victims Act went into effect Wednesday — a landmark law expected to draw thousands of suits from victims of sex abuse seeking long-awaited justice.
The law opens up a so-called oneyear “look-back window” allowing victims of any age to seek civil action against their abusers, regardless of how long ago the abuse happened.
After that year, which applies only to civil actions, victims have up until the age of 55 to file lawsuits against their abusers and the institutions that enabled the abuse.
CVA also has a criminal element. Alleged victims now have until age 28 to press felony charges and age 25 for misdemeanors — five-year increases from the previous statute of limitations.
The old statute of limitations for civil actions was three years beginning when the victim turned 18.
Since the Child Victims Act was signed into law on Feb. 14, law firms across the state have been busy prepping a crush of lawsuits, which can be filed starting Wednesday in any of the state’s 62 Supreme Court jurisdictions.
“[Wednesday] is a profound day for [the victims],” said lawyer Michael Pfau, whose firm is filing dozens of suits on behalf of more than 550 victims. “It is really hitting home to our clients that after 10, 20, 50 years, they are going to have a voice in this state and in this court system to tell their stories and obtain justice.”
Law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates is filing more than 200 suits, saying dozens of alleged abusers will be publicly identified for the first time.
“[Survivors] now have an opportunity to take back power stolen from them when they were kids and start to heal,” said attorney Jeff Anderson.
Carrie Goldberg, who led the lobbying efforts that resulted in the state’s just-passed revenge-porn law, said her clients were reaping the benefits of the Child Victims Act even before it went into effect.
Court administrators are well-prepared for the unprecedented influx of suits, which will be handled by 45 designated judges statewide, said statecourts spokesman Lucian Chalfen.
Hours after midnight Wednesday, more than 100 lawsuits were publicly filed under the act, including dozens in the city. A large majority were filed against Catholic Church dioceses. Others were filed against the Boy Scouts of America and schools.
Separately, dozens alone were filed in upstate Erie County against the the Diocese of Buffalo.
The rash of lawsuits ranged from widespread sexual abuse at a Staten Island homeless shelter to man who allegedly raped his younger sister in their Long Island home from 1968 to 1974.