Thousands of child sexual abuse lawsuits are expected to flow into New York State courts in the coming weeks exposing decades-old misconduct at schools, hospitals, churches and youth clubs, according to lawyers for victims.
On Aug. 14, the Child Victims Act takes effect, giving people one year to sue over allegations of sexual abuse, regardless of when they said it occurred.
Under the law signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in February, New York has gone from one of the toughest states to bring a case because of its strict statute of limitations to one of the easiest, potentially unleashing decades of unresolved claims.
“I think the potential is huge for all kinds of things coming to the surface like we’re seeing with Epstein,” said victims’ attorney James Marsh, referring to the criminal sex trafficking charges against the once politically connected American financier Jeffrey Epstein. He pleaded not guilty and is jailed pending trial.