UPDATE:  On December 1, 2019, the New Jersey Sexual Abuse Survivor Law went into effect. This law opens up a two-year window for sexual abuse survivors to file lawsuits, regardless of when the abuse took place. Read more here!

In January, the Roman Catholic dioceses in New Jersey revealed names of close to 200 priests accused of child sexual abuse over a span of decades. One hundred—or at least half of those members of the clergy—have since passed away, but the accusations were verified as credible at the time they were made.

According to nj.com, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal expressed his intent to begin investigating the Roman Catholic dioceses in New Jersey last fall for the identities of priest perpetrators of child sexual abuse after a Pennsylvania grand jury released 300 credible names of clergy in that neighboring state.

The records which were released purportedly date as far back as the 1940s and revealed supervisor and institutional attempts to cover up the alleged abuse.

For at least the last twenty years, adult victims have questioned why the state of New Jersey has a short two-year statute of limitations on the reporting and prosecution of such crimes. The two-year limitation on claims has allegedly prevented victims from pursuing legal action against the Roman Catholic dioceses in New Jersey, other religious institutions, and non-profit organizations.

As indicated in a more recent article by nj.com, heartfelt testimony from five of six siblings that experienced ongoing child sexual abuse for a decade by a pedophile priest was presented to a state Senate Judiciary Committee.

On the table was a bill expanding the State of New Jersey statute of limitation. The committee approved the bill, and it is now scheduled to be voted on by both houses toward the end of March.

The sisters were seeking legal recourse and an opening of records which would allow them to know the extent of victimization that the accused clergy person left in his wake. They also want to know if he was transferred knowingly from the Newark area to Pennsylvania because of his gross misconduct.

According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), each state has statutes of limitations, or deadlines, after which victims and prosecutors are prohibited from seeking criminal charges and civil restitution for crimes committed.

These deadlines vary depending upon whether the crime was a misdemeanor or felony, whether the crime was reported to law enforcement, whether there is DNA evidence of the act, and the degree of severity.

The Creation of a Compensation Fund

According to the Morning Call, the Catholic Conference of the state has stood opposed to the expansion of the statute of limitations, along with the New Jersey Civil Justice Institute. It claims that its full cooperation with the investigatory process has underscored that the institution is just arguing with methodology rather than intent.

The Catholic dioceses in New Jersey and the New Jersey Civil Justice Institute worry that the change in the law could unfairly sweep the financial foundation right out from underneath a multitude of churches and other nonprofits.

Along with the release of names of perpetrating priests, the New Jersey Catholic conference both expressed regret of their failures in the past to protect vulnerable minors and their creation of a victim’s compensation fund.

If a former child sexual abuse victim chooses to avail themselves of the compensation fund, they will waive the right to sue at that time or in the future. The expanded law, on the other hand, would allow former victims to sue until they reach the age of 55 or seven years from the date at which they connected current harm to previous abuse.

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