Deadline approaching for pre-2007 child sex abuse claims in Delaware
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
A two year window is closing for survivors of child sexual abuse in Delaware. The Child Victims Act passed in the state in July 2007 gave people two years to file civil suits for cases that occurred before 2007.
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Right now any survivor of child sexual abuse in Delaware can file a civil suit, no matter when the abuse happened.
By the time the window for filing civil suits closes, Wilmington lawyer Tom Neuberger says his law firm will have brought about 110 cases.
Neuberger: Many of the victims have sued anonymously and the courts are allowing us so instead of saying I Mr. X was a victim of abuse, they can sue as John Doe and they do not publicly have to reveal their name. This has assisted many victims in coming forward so they don't endure any more public humiliation about what happened to them.
Neuberger says his cases include incidents from the 1950s to 2005. He says the two year window appears to have been sufficient.
Delaware's Child Victims Act eliminated the civil statute of limitations for future cases of child sexual abuse.