AP reports that the New York state legislature yesterday gave final passage to A02863, the Child Victims Act (
full text). Last week, the Catholic Church dropped its opposition to the bill when it was amended to treat public and private schools the same. Gov. Andrew Cuomo says that he will sign the bill. A
press release from Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie summarizes the bill's provisions:
The Child Victims Act would give childhood sexual abuse survivors an additional five years to seek criminal charges against perpetrators by changing when the statute of limitations clock begins to run. Under the bill, the five year period within which charges could be brought would not start until the victim reaches age 23, rather than 18.
For civil cases involving sex offenses against a child, the statute of limitations would be tolled and a lawsuit by a victim would be permitted up until the victim turns 55 years of age. The legislation includes a one year look-back window for survivors who are not able to seek recourse under current law. This one-year look-back window would take effect six months after the bill is signed into law.
[Thanks to Tom Rutledge for the lead.]
