Since the New York Child Victims Act was passed more than a year and a half ago, Child Victims Act lawsuits have accused a collective 173 Catholic priests in Western New York churches of sex abuse against children, according to The Buffalo News.

The most recent in this long list of Child Victims Act lawsuits was filed against the Rev. Donald J. Lutz, the pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Buffalo, on July 30, 2020 in State Supreme Court. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of an anonymous plaintiff who alleges that Lutz engaged in “unpermitted sexual contact” with the plaintiff from 1975 to 1976, when the plaintiff was 13 to 14.

The plaintiff was an attendee at St. Leo the Great Church in Amherst at the time, according to court papers. When contacted by The Buffalo News for comment, Lutz confirmed that he had been assigned to St. Leo in 1975 and 1976, though he denied sexually abusing a child.

Lutz said that he had not been contacted about the case—which isn’t completely surprising, because he was not actually named as a defendant, and wouldn’t have been served with a summons and the complaint. Instead, the lawsuit, like many Child Victims Act lawsuits, names the church as a defendant. No one from the Buffalo Diocese had reached out about the case, he said. This is the first time Lutz has been publicly accused of child sex abuse.

A spokesperson for the Buffalo Diocese has said that the complaint will be presented to a review board in charge of examining abuse allegations within the diocese at the next board meeting.

“At this time, the diocese has no information other than the limited allegations set forth in the anonymous complaint and has not made any determination (including the imposition of administrative leave) regarding this matter,” said diocese spokesperson Greg Tucker.

More than 400 Child Victims Act lawsuits have been filed in area courts accusing Catholic priests in Western New York. Nearly a third of these cases involve just 11 priests.

173 Catholic priests in Western New York have been accused in Child Victims Act lawsuits since the law’s passing, and 33 previously-unaccused Buffalo-area priests have been accused in these lawsuits since June.

The majority of the priests named in these Child Victims Act lawsuits are deceased, with the dates of some of the alleged abuse going back to the early 1950s.

The recent slew of lawsuits came just weeks prior to New York Gov. Cuomo extended the lookback window for Child Victims Act lawsuits.

The Child Victims Act Benefits Survivors

The New York Child Victims Act, passed in 2019, extended the statute of limitations under which survivors of child sex abuse could pursue litigation. Before the Act, the previous statute of limitations allowed victims until age 23 to pursue litigation. Now, survivors have until age 55 to file civil suits, and until age 28 to seek criminal charges against their abusers.

Moreover, a lookback window was established that allows Child Victims Act lawsuits to be filed against an institution or organizations that allowed or even covered up the alleged abuse, even if it occurred years or even decades ago. The original lookback window was set for a one-year period, but it has been extended a couple of times at this point. Now, the lookback window has been extended until Aug. 14, 2021.

“The Child Victims Act brought a long-needed pathway to justice for people who were abused, and helps right wrongs that went unacknowledged and unpunished for far too long and we cannot let this pandemic limit the ability for survivors to have their day in court,” Governor Cuomo said in a statement upon signing the extension. “As New York continues to reopen and recover from a public health crisis, extending the look back window is the right thing to do and will help ensure that abusers and those who enabled them are held accountable.”

If you or someone you love have suffered from child sexual abuse at the hands of a clergy member in New York, you may be able to file a lawsuit under the Child Victims Act. While filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by this kind of abuse, it can at least help to provide some kind of financial compensation, as well as hold those responsible for this suffering—including the institutions that may have allowed this abuse to occur or even actively covered it up—accountable.

Filing a lawsuit can be a daunting prospect, so Top Class Actions has laid the groundwork for you by connecting you with an experienced attorney. Consulting an attorney can help you determine if you have a claim, navigate the complexities of litigation, and maximize your potential compensation.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.