Child abuse victims who were previously barred from filing civil litigation due to statutes of limitation (SOL) will soon have a three-year window to file their complaints, as a result of legislation signed by Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.
Edwards signed House Bill 492, authored by Rep. Jason Hughes (D-New Orleans), on June 14. Under the previous law, a victim is barred from filing a child sexual abuse claim after reaching age 28 – or a decade after the victim reaches the age of the majority. But under HB 492, any child abuse victim who was previously barred from filing a civil suit has three years to revive a claim.
The measure is seen as a victory for victims who were abused as children by Roman Catholic Church clerics.
“This legislation is in line with the medical, psychological and social science data relative to the ubiquitous epidemic of child sexual abuse,” Kathryn Robb, executive director of Child USAdvocacy and supporter of the bill, told the Louisiana Record in an email. “The children of Louisiana are now safer because SOL reform legislation exposes hidden sexual predators and holds accountable those organizations that have covered up the abuse of children.”
Louisiana's civil justice system should be able to handle any uptick in litigation as a result of the new law, she said. In the state of New York, with 19 million residents, the courts have taken on 6,000 filings under the state's New York Child Victims Act since August 2019, according to Robb.
"A state like Louisiana (4.5 million people) should have no problem managing claims and filings," she said.
Two dozen other jurisdictions have passed similar legislation, according to Robb, who said that child sexual abuse remains a problem of epidemic proportions, affecting 20 percent of girls and one in 13 boys.
“Our civil justice system works to hold wrongdoers accountable and to send a shot across the bow -- family members (where most abuse occurs), teachers, coaches, doctors and all clergy,” she said. “In short, it’s a good day for Louisiana, because its leaders did the right thing and allowed the light of truth to right unspeakable wrongs to children."
Supporters say that the new law, which takes effect on Aug. 1, will make the civil justice system in Louisiana much more accessible to survivors of child sexual abuse and help to achieve justice for victims of crimes such as homicide, sexual assault, battery, kidnapping, criminal neglect and human trafficking.
The bill passed the House by a vote of 103-0 and the Senate by 36-0.