The Diocese of Rochester, a Catholic diocese in New York that includes approximately 350,000 Catholics within its purview, is about to be hit with dozens more sexual abuse in Catholic Church lawsuits.

The Catholic Church has been constantly in the news throughout the last few years as more and more information has been revealed about decades of sexual abuse and subsequent cover-ups as a part of the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal. The Church has been hit with a slew of lawsuits so far over alleged sex abuse in children.

Next month, New York’s reforms for child sexual abuse reporting will go into effect, which will likely cause a surge of litigation to be filed.

The New York Child Victims Act

The Child Victims Act, which was signed into law in January, reformed old statutes about child sexual abuse claims. Previously, these statutes had placed a limitation on victims from seeking civil prosecution against their abusers after the victim turned 23. The Child Victims Act increases the statute of limitations to the age of 55 for civil cases, and criminal cases can now be brought until the age of 28.

The reforms go into effect in mid-August, at which point the window for pursuing litigation over childhood sexual abuse opens for a year, wherein any victim, regardless of age and how long it has been since the abuse occurred, can seek civil or criminal prosecution against those involved in the abuse.

Mitchell Garabedian, a Boston attorney (portrayed by Stanley Tucci in the Academy Award­–winning movie Spotlight) who has been fighting on behalf of sex abuse victims for decades, said that he expects to bring lawsuits on behalf of 75 victims in the month of August. He also expects another wave of litigation to follow shortly thereafter according to Ithaca.com.

The victims at the time of abuse range from 4 to 20 years old, though now they are between their mid-30s and late 70s. Among these victims, the abuse spans decades: between 1950 and 1993.

Many of these lawsuits are from Rochester County. “I am only one lawyer, and I represent 75 victims,” Garabedian pointed out. “Since there are going to be other lawyers filing lawsuits too, you’re going to see many more cases within the Diocese of Rochester filed. The Diocese of Rochester has as many sexual abusive priests in its ranks as is to be expected. It’s typical, it’s not unusual, and they should be ashamed.”

Investigations into sexual abuse in Catholic Church dioceses across the country were sparked after a major Pennsylvania grand jury report that found credible allegations against more than 300 predator priests against more than 1,000 children.

Can I File a Sexual Abuse in Catholic Church Lawsuit?

If you are a victim of childhood sexual abuse in New York, even if occurred years or decades ago, you may be able to file a lawsuit and pursue compensation under the New York Child Victims Act.

Of course, filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by abuse, but it can help to provide monetary compensation, as well as hold those responsible accountable.

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