A new lawsuit has been filed by a woman in Hollywood who alleges that she was previously abused by a Catholic priest. Her Catholic church sexual abuse lawsuit has been filed against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and is believed to be the first civil suit to target the biggest Catholic diocese in the United States since the passage of the California Child Victims Act.

The most recent lawsuit targeting the Archdiocese of Los Angeles says that the sexual abuse of the victim began in 1993 when she was just eight years old and continued for a four-year period. The priest named in the lawsuit was ordained in the Philippines in 1954 prior to starting work at Catholic churches in Gardena, Los Angeles, and Pomona in California starting in 1981.

In 2002, that same priest was arrested and charged with sexually molesting two little girls in over 50 instances since 1997. According to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, that priest was removed from ministry in April 2002. The archdiocese has stated that it was the first time that they learned about his misconduct when the victim who filed the most recent sexual abuse lawsuit reported the concerns to a high school campus pastor.

California Legal Reforms

The California Child Victims Act follows the example set by other states of enabling victims to leverage more time to file civil lawsuits. Prior to the California Child Victims Act, those who were sexually abused in California had until age 26 to bring a civil lawsuit. That law now expands the age limit to 40 and supersedes the statute of limitations for a three-year period that will kick off in January 2020.

Many of the supporters of the bill recognize that survivors might not want to come forward for years. Plenty of victims struggle with what has happened to them with church sexual abuse.

For many of those who have to navigate the impact of this church sexual abuse on their life, recognizing it decades later put them out of the eligibility period to bring a civil lawsuit because the statute of limitations would have previously filed.

In 2003, California lawmakers suspended the statute of limitations for a one-year period. Hundreds of people brought Catholic church abuse lawsuits at that time and received payouts by doing so.

Pressure to update laws and allow more victims to share their stories began to mount after reports showed the probable extent of church sexual abuse in a few states.

Church sexual abuse around the country has made headlines and become the subject of numerous lawsuits claiming that the Catholic Church did not do enough to respond to claims of sexual abuse. Many of the lawsuits argue that bishops and priests accused of sexual abuse were allowed to stay in leadership positions.

The new Child Victims Act will not only allow more Catholic church sexual abuse victims to file lawsuits, but also exposes other organizations, such as school districts and the Boy Scouts, to potential lawsuits. Many other lawsuits are anticipated under this new three-year window suspension and statute of limitations extension.

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