NY adult sex abuse victims can sue over old incidents

DELAWARE: Adult sexual abuse victims in New York will get an opportunity to sue over decades-old allegations when a law revives a range of cases including ones against hospitals, Wall Street banks and ex-us president Donald Trump.

New York’s Adult Survivors Act creates a one-year period when victims can file lawsuits that otherwise would have been barred because the case was too old.

Former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll is expected to sue Trump under the new law over an alleged rape 27 years ago in a Manhattan Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room, according to a court filing.

Trump has denied raping Carroll or knowing her at the time, and said she was “not my type”.

The law will revive claims against perpetrators and companies for workplace abuse in the 1980s and 1990s, when employers were more tolerant of misconduct, said Doug Wigdor, an attorney who specialises in sexual harassment claims.

“A lot of people didn’t come forward because maybe women were worried about their careers and the stigma associated with coming forward,” said Wigdor, who will begin filing cases next week.

“And now the landscape has changed significantly.”

Many states have expanded or temporarily lifted statutes of limitations on abuse claims in wake of the #Metoo movement and sexual misconduct scandals like that involving USA Gymnastics.

One person who won’t be sued is Harvey Weinstein, a former film producer serving a 23-year term for sex crimes in New York and the face of the #Metoo movement, as claims over his abuse were settled last year.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the law in May. It was modelled on the state’s Child Victims Act that revived old claims over child sex abuse and led to thousands of lawsuits against schools, churches and youth organisations.

The number of adult cases is likely to be lower than cases involving children, said Jeff Herman, an attorney who represents victims of sexual abuse.