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During his daily COVID-19 briefing on Friday, May 8 in the Murray Student Center at Marist College, Cuomo announced the state is extending the window to file abuse claims by five months due to the virus.
Anyone looking to file a claim under the Child Victims Act will now have through Jan. 14 to do so.
Cuomo said that “the COVID pandemic has limited survivors’ ability to file claims and effectively arguing their case, delaying their long-overdue justice.”
- Earlier story - COVID-19: 'We're Finally Ahead Of This Virus,' Cuomo Says, Sharing Data On Locales Of New Cases
Victims of sexual abuse in New York previously were required to file any civil lawsuits before they turned 23. Under the Child Victims Act, anyone under the age of 55 can file a lawsuit, and during the one-year window, older victims can also make claims.
Thousands of lawsuits have been filed since the Child Victims Act took effect last August. New York was one of 20 states that changed its statute of limitation laws regarding child sexual abuse cases last year.
Cases have been filed against each of New York’s eight Roman Catholic Church dioceses, the Boy Scouts of America, some schools, and hospitals.
In response to the influx of cases, New York State has designated 45 judges statewide that will hear cases, some of which date back decades.
“The revived Child Victims Act cases are critically important cases, raising numerous challenging legal issues that must be adjudicated as consistently and expeditiously as possible across the state,” New York Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks said last year. “We are fully committed to providing appropriate and sufficient resources to achieve that goal.”
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