State window set to open for old sex-abuse lawsuits

At least several hundred lawsuits are about to land. Two collaborating law firms that represent Pringle – Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala, based in Washington State, and Marsh Law Firm, which has an office in White Plains – say they so far are bringing cases on behalf of more than 500 abuse survivors. More than 200 say they are victims of the same abuser: the late Reginald Archibald, an endocrinologist accused of sexually abusing hundreds of boys brought to him because they were growing too slowly.

Pringle’s attorney, Jennifer Freeman, said that proving in court events that occurred long ago does present “evidentiary challenges,” but that several factors can help overcome that elapsed time. For one, abuse cases tend to have multiple victims that provide corroborating accounts. Often, there also are incriminating records buried away.

“Both the Boy Scouts and the Catholic Church have their own version of their ‘secret files,’” she said.