Victims of childhood sexual abuse deal with the trauma in different ways, and according to different timelines. In many cases, experts say, it takes years, sometimes decades, to fully process what they’ve been through. That’s one of the reasons legislators in several states have been working in recent years to change the laws governing how long a person has to file suit against their alleged abusers.

In January, California joined the ranks of states giving survivors more time to pursue legal action and more opportunity to sue for damages.

What Is California Assembly Bill 218?

California Assembly Bill 218, approved by state lawmakers last year, says victims of childhood sexual abuse have until the age of 40 or five years after they discover the abuse caused injury, whichever comes later, to file a lawsuit in the matter. The bill was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on Oct. 13, 2019 and took effect Jan. 1, 2020.

Previously, victims had until the age of 26 or three years after realizing the assault resulted in injury and damages, whichever came later.

The revised law also opened a three-year look back window of opportunity for victims who were barred by the state’s previous statute of limitations from bringing child sex abuse cases to court. That means anyone who endured sexual abuse as a child and didn’t file a lawsuit before the old statute of limitations expired has three years to do so now, according to reporting by the Orange County Register.

What Changes Does Assembly Bill 218 Bring?

Assembly Bill 218 was written by Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego and has some other key features that could have a significant impact on anyone involved in a childhood sexual abuse case.

The new law defines the offense as childhood sexual assault rather than abuse. The difference in terminology might seem subtle, but experts suggest it can be easier for victims to prove allegations of assault than abuse, the Orange County Register reported.

The bill also broadened the requirements for filing a lawsuit, allowing now that a victim can sue if “a person or entity knew or had reason to know, or was otherwise on notice, of any misconduct that creates a risk of childhood sexual assault by an employee, volunteer, representative, or agent, or the person or entity failed to take reasonable steps or to implement safeguards to avoid acts of childhood sexual assault” according to the School and College Legal Services of California.

Lastly, Assembly Bill 218 includes a provision that creates the opportunity for victims, childhood and adult, to be awarded treble damages, or triple damages, if it can be proven the defendants in the case conducted any kind of cover up of the sexual assault.

How Will Sexual Abuse Survivors Be Protected?

While many victims of childhood sexual abuse find some commonality in how they cope with the effects of the abuse and the stages they go through in dealing with it, there are no hard and fast rules for how long their recovery takes. Everyone’s path is different. It can take many years to become clear to survivors just how their lives have been impacted by the abuse, experts at University of Chicago Medicine say.

By extending the statute of limitations for child sex abuse cases in California, victims’ rights are better protected, their advocates say. The same is true in several other states, most recently New York and New Jersey, where similar legislation has been passed.

How Many New Claims Are Anticipated to Be Made Under Assembly Bill 218?

Officials in California anticipate an increase in the number of child sex abuse lawsuits filed in the wake of Assembly Bill 218. If history is any indicator, their predictions are warranted.

In New Jersey, where lawmakers passed a new Child Victims Act in November that also extended the statute of limitations on child sex abuse lawsuits and created a two-year look back period for expired ones, the National Law Review reported 46 new lawsuits filed the minute the law took effect.

A report by the Ventura County Star newspaper in California said state lawmakers opened a one-year look back period for victims of childhood molestation back in 2003, which resulted in nearly 1,000 claims being filed. Legal experts interviewed for that article said they expected an even bigger wave of complaints to be filed this time around. 

Newspapers across the state have reported lawyers indicating they have anywhere from dozens to hundreds of new cases ready to be filed. Some of those cases have already become news.

Six women filed civil complaints against USA Swimming, its local associations in California and three former swimming coaches earlier this year alleging the organization failed to protect them from abuse by the coaches.

According to reports by NBC Sports, the lawsuits claim USA Swimming, its top officials and the local associations and clubs knew former U.S. Olympic and national team coach Mitch Ivey, former U.S. national team director Everett Uchiyama, and former coach Andrew King exhibited “predatory behavior but refused to address it, creating a culture of abuse that exposed dozens of underage swimmers to sexual abuse and harassment.”

What Additional Penalties Are Being Implemented?

Victim’s advocates in California and across the nation have supported the Assembly Bill 218 and celebrated it as a means of better protecting children and preventing childhood sexual assault by holding institutions more accountable. That accountability comes with Assembly Bill 218’s triple damages allowance.

If a school, religious organization, or sports league, for example, is at risk of having to pay three times the damages in a child sex assault case for trying to cover it up they might be more likely to do the opposite, a report in Capitol Weekly said.

Are There Other Recent Cases?

Around the country, the news has been flooded with accounts of abuse within powerful religious organizations, educational institutions, sports organizations, and more. Legal changes like Assembly Bill 218 have given more victims a platform through which they can seek justice. Many victims are filing lawsuits under new state laws that extend the statute of limitations for civil claims of abuse, like Assembly Bill 218, or are taking advantage of look back windows that allow victims a limited time to file a claim of abuse no matter when their alleged abuse occurred.

One such lawsuit was filed under California’s Assembly Bill 218 against the US Equestrian Federation. The Chronicle of the Horse explains that two similar lawsuits were also filed in New York State, against another organizational official. New York, like California, also expanded the statute of limitations on sexual abuse claims. Allegedly, the trainer abused multiple minors that he taught.

Swimming officials have also faced claims of abuse, notes the equestrian publication. Reportedly six women have already filed civil claims under Assembly Bill 218, marking the first major filings under the law. Both the national organization, USA Swimming, and local associations have come under fire in these lawsuits, as well as coaches, explains The Chronicle of the Horse.

The NCAA and U.S. Figure Skating are also facing claims of abuse within their organization, highlighting what many critics say is a widespread problem of abuse in sporting organizations, particularly against minors. Critics and participants have said that these organizations have not done enough to protect children from abuse occurring, or have not handled it appropriately after it occurred.

New Claims Filed Under Assembly Bill 218

After the Bill went into effect, a number of lawsuits were filed by survivors who say they were sexually abused as children.

The Orange County Register reports that two lawsuits were filed by former students who say that they were sexually abused in Orange and Los Angeles County area Catholic schools. The plaintiffs say that they would not have been able to take action without California’s new law.

In addition, another child sex abuse lawsuit was filed by a former altar server and member of a church youth group. The plaintiff says that a priest abused him at a Catholic Church in Hemet, Calif. while he was in his early teens, reports The San Bernardino Sun.

The plaintiffs in these lawsuits filed against the Roman Catholic Church reportedly allege that Church officials engaged in a systematic cover-up of sexual abuse allegations made by children against priests and other clergy members. The plaintiffs also say that they would not have been given the chance to take their abusers and the institutions that protected them to court without the passage of Bill 218.

“Children who may be hurt today, because of this law may now bring a claim later in life when they are able to deal with this and when they are able to speak about the assault they suffered,” one lawyer representing the plaintiff in a recent lawsuit reportedly said during a press conference.

Can You File a Claim Under Assembly Bill 218?

Victims of childhood sexual abuse in California who were prevented from filing a lawsuit because the statute of limitations had expired now have until 2023 to pursue legal action under the terms of Assembly Bill 218.

If you suffered abuse as a child, either within an organization, or from another source, you may have a legal claim under Assembly Bill 218.

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