The Roman Catholic dioceses in New Jersey have extended the deadline for childhood victims of sexual assault to file a claim for compensation from a church-funded account.

The new deadline is Feb. 29, extended from the previous deadline of Feb. 15. The co-administrator of the fund, Camille Biros, told NJ.com that the fund has paid more than $10 million in 81 settlements. The five dioceses that are participating in the fund are the Newark archdiocese and the dioceses of Camden, Paterson, Trenton and Metuchen.

Biros said 593 other claims are under review. So far, eight claims have been rejected, in some cases because the clergy was not a diocesan priest or because the victim was not a minor at the time of the alleged abuse, according to Biros.

If a priest has committed sexual abuse but is not ordained by diocese, the fund will not provide coverage for the abuse.

Catholic Dioceses in New Jersey Can Face Lawsuits

New Jersey enacted a new law on Dec. 1 that allow childhood survivors of sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits against their abusers until the child victim becomes 55 years old or seven years from the time the victim realizes an injury was caused by the past abuse, whichever date is later. In the past, the law only provided child victims with two years from the time of the abuse to report it.

The new law also provides a two-year look-back window for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to bring forth civil claims no matter how long ago the abuse happened, and even if the previous statute of limitations has run out.

Any survivor who accepts compensation from the Catholic dioceses fund agrees not file a lawsuit.

A lawsuit allows victims to obtain discovery, which means they have the ability to access documents and other types of evidence from the perpetrator or the organization named as a defendant in the case.

Last spring, Whyy.org spoke with Lara Fortney-McKeever, who said, “What victims want is discovery, and the only way we’re going to get discovery is by having our day in court and them opening up the secret archives and all of what they knew and didn’t tell us.”

Fortney-McKeever is one of five sisters who suffered abuse by a Catholic priest, Father Augustine Giella, in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Giella died at the age of 72 in 1993 before he could face a trial. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, police found vials of urine, pairs of little girls’ underwear and photos of naked children. Among the photos were some of Carolyn Fortney, the youngest of the family’s five abused girls.

Carolyn was younger than two years old when Giella started abusing her, and she remembers him always want to give her baths. He even touched her inappropriately when he would sit on his lap during dinner at the Fortney’s home.

Not only the youngest, but also abused for the longest period of time at 10 years, Carolyn attempted suicide with pills and alcohol at one point in her adult life.

Most of the siblings are no longer members of any Catholic dioceses in New Jersey or anywhere else.

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