NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1641
SPONSOR: Rosenthal TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to remov-
ing the statute of limitations in civil actions involving certain child
sexual assault offenses
PURPOSE:
To eliminate the civil statute of limitations in child sexual assault
cases.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends subdivision (b) of section 208 of the civil practice
law and rules.
Section two amends section 213-c of the civil practice law and rules.
Section three amends section 214-g of the civil practice law and rules.
Section four establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
According to data from the Crimes Against Children Research Center, 1 in
5 girls and 1 in 20 boys are victims of sexual assault. A 2003 National
Institute of Justice report found that 3 out of 4 children who have been
sexually assaulted were abused by a person they know well. Child sexual
assault is an epidemic, and the majority of survivors are so traumatized
by their abuse that it takes them decades to disclose their abuse, if
they ever do. Survivors are threatened with harm, groomed for years to
believe the abuse is their fault, fear that they will not be believed or
will be shamed, and others are simply too young to understand or express
what has happened to them. In many cases, by the time a child comes
forward about their sexual assault, the statute of limitations has
expired, and survivors are left with no recourse. The short statute of
limitations in childhood sexual assault cases also ensures that danger-
ous predators remain free to abuse other children if they beat the
clock. Sadly, we have seen this play out time and time again, with
horrific consequences for so many innocent children whose lives are
shattered.
The Child Victims Act, which became law in 2019, extended New York
State's statute of limitations on childhood sexual assault cases to age
28 for a person bringing a criminal case and age 55 for a person bring-
ing a civil case. This law also opened a look back period for victims
who were previously time-barred to bring a civil case, no matter how
long ago the abuse occurred. During this lookback period, nearly 11,000
cases were filed. However, countless survivors of childhood sexual
assault around the state are still bound by an arbitrarily short statute
of limitations which misunderstands the nature of their trauma and
exposes the public to an unreasonable risk of harm.
In order to conclusively address childhood sexual abuse, we must ensure
that the law allows survivors to come forward and seek justice whenever
they are comfortable and safe to do so, regardless of how many years
have elapsed. This legislation will provide survivors the opportunity to
be heard by eliminating the civil statute of limitations on child sexual
assault cases.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A.1854-A - Referred to Codes
2021-22: A.618-A - Referred to Codes
2019-20: A.8745 - Referred to Codes
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Undetermined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
