If you have been watching or reading the local news lately,
you probably have heard about the Louisville priest who was recently
found guilty of sexually abusing a young boy at a camp in the 1970s. The
facts of the case are truly disturbing, but what is even more
disturbing that the accuser told the church what had happened to him 15
years ago and they did nothing about it. It is fortunate that the victim
was able to bring his abuser to justice now, so many years after the
abuse occurred. He was able to do so because in Kentucky, there is no
statute of limitations in criminal sexual assault cases involving
children.
Statutes of limitations are like the game clock
at a football game. Once time runs out, no more plays can be run. In
the legal world, once the statute of limitations has run out, no more
lawsuits can be filed. Statutes of limitations are a bit trickier than
football game clocks though because there is no universal amount of time
victims have to bring a lawsuit or press criminal charges.
For
example, in the case above, the victim was able to bring a criminal
lawsuit because no statute of limitations applied. Unfortunately, he
will not be able to bring a civil lawsuit against the priest, the camp,
or the Catholic Church because civil lawsuits alleging childhood sexual
abuse must be brought within five years of the last act of abuse, or
within five years of the date the victim’s discovery of the abuse, or
within five years after the victim reaches the age of eighteen. The
abuse in this case occurred well over 5 years ago, the victim first came
forward in 2001, and the victim is more than five years over the age of
eighteen.
To make things even more confusing, statues of limitations vary between
crimes and between different civil claims, and there are special rules
that start and stop the clock, potentially giving a victim a longer time
to bring a claim than they might otherwise have had. This is one of the
main reasons it is important to talk with an experienced attorney as
soon as possible after you have suffered an injury at the hands of another.
An attorney is going to be able to figure out what statute of
limitations applies, and make sure you don’t run out of time to file a
civil lawsuit or press criminal charges.
Read the full article here: https://florastuart.com/lawyer/2016/12/13/Child-Injury/Sex-Abuse-Cases-Brought-Years-After-Abuse-_bl27716.htm
