Connecticut Child Sex Abuse Lawyer
Sexually exploiting a child is a heinous act that can have a permanent impact on a child’s physical and mental health and ability to meet their full potential as an adult. The perpetrator might face the criminal justice system, but these acts often are unreported, or there is not enough evidence to prosecute. A survivor might feel violated, unheard, and unseen.
Even when the criminal justice system works to punish the perpetrator, there is little satisfaction for the victim. However, in some cases, a survivor of child sex abuse can bring a civil lawsuit seeking financial compensation.
State laws allow survivors to bring civil lawsuits even when the abuse occurred decades ago. Speak with a Connecticut child sex abuse lawyer at D’Amico Pettinicchi Injury Lawyers about your experience. We will advise you whether a lawsuit is viable in your situation. If so, our compassionate injury attorneys will handle your case with the sensitivity developed over decades of representing injured people and achieving excellent results.
You Can Sue a Perpetrator, Third Party, or Both
Everyone has a legal duty not to harm others. The duty toward children is especially clear because children often have a limited capacity to protect themselves. People who are entrusted with the care of a child have a heightened responsibility to ensure their safety.
Sexual abuse of a child is a grave violation of the duty not to harm, and a perpetrator can be financially liable to the victim. If a third party actively permitted the abuse or negligently allowed it to occur, the third party also could be liable to the abuse survivor.
For example, if the abuse happened at a daycare, school, church, or camp, you could sue the organizations running the programs for negligent hiring. negligent supervision or negligent failures to address warning signs of abuse. If someone allowed the abuse to occur in their home, they could be liable. A Connecticut child sex abuse attorney at D’Amico Pettinicchi Injury Lawyers can thoroughly investigate the situation to find potentially responsible parties with the resources to pay compensation.
Ability to Pay Is a Critical Consideration
Experiencing sexual abuse is traumatizing at any age, but particularly so if you were a child when it happened. Bringing a civil lawsuit for financial compensation will inevitably trigger bad memories and require you to relive some of the worst moments of your life. However, it also allows you to experience a sense of justice, closure, and empowerment by holding the abuser accountable and securing the support you need to heal and move forward.
Our legal team at D’Amico Pettinicchi Injury Lawyers will evaluate whether anyone directly or peripherally involved has the financial resources to pay compensation. If perpetrators have resources like a home, significant savings, investment accounts, or a business, filing suit can give you a chance to make them pay for what they did. When a well-resourced third party can be held liable, you could obtain a financial award, vindication and the satisfaction of holding them accountable for their failure to protect you and an opportunity to prevent future acts of sexual abuse.
Statute of Limitations Is Generous to Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors
Childhood sexual abuse is such a devastating experience that the child sometimes buries the memory. Other children remember the experience but don’t process it as abuse until they reach maturity. Some recognize that they have been abused but are too frightened or traumatized to tell anyone or pursue justice for themselves.
Childhood sexual abuse survivors often need years to process what happened to them. The law recognizes that it can take a long time for a survivor to feel ready to face the people who caused them harm. Accordingly, Connecticut General Statutes § 52-577d allows someone who suffered sexual abuse when younger than 21 to file a civil suit against a perpetrator or responsible third party any time before their 51st birthday.
The survivor still must prove that the abuse happened, and proof can be difficult to obtain when the incident happened decades ago. Our diligent team of child sex abuse lawyers in Connecticut could use diaries, disclosures to friends, prior similar acts, expert witnesses, and similar evidence to establish that the abuse occurred. If there were criminal charges against the perpetrator, that evidence could support the case. Medical records and mental health providers’ notes also can be helpful in these cases.
Work With a Connecticut Child Sex Abuse Attorney to Hold an Abuser Accountable
If you survived childhood sexual abuse, you deserve to hold your abuser and anyone who aided them accountable. Although you can never regain what your abuser took from you, a civil lawsuit seeking financial compensation can help you feel more empowered.
Our legal professionals at D’Amico Pettinicchi Injury Lawyers can help you seek justice. We have been representing injured people for decades and have the knowledge, skills, and resources to help you pursue maximum compensation. Reach out today to schedule a free, in-person or remote consultation with a Connecticut child sex abuse lawyer.
FAQ for Child Sex Abuse Lawyers
What Is the Civil Statute of Limitations for People Under 21 When the Abuse Occurred?
Generally, a civil action to recover damages for personal injury (including emotional distress) caused by sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or sexual assault of a person under twenty-one years of age must be brought no later than thirty years from the date the victim attains twenty-one years of age Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-577d. A plaintiff does not need to show a predicate criminal prosecution or conviction to qualify for this extended thirty-year limitation period under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-577d, Doe v. Rackliffe, 337 Conn. 627.
However, an action to recover damages for personal injury caused by sexual assault may be brought at any time after the date of the act complained of—meaning there is no limitation period—if the party legally at fault has been convicted of a violation of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-70 (sexual assault in the first degree) or Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-70a (aggravated sexual assault in the first degree) Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-577e.
Under Connecticut law, a civil claim for sexual abuse brought by an adult claimant who was not a minor at the time of the alleged abuse is generally subject to a three-year statute of limitations for intentional torts Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-577, Doe v. Rackliffe, 337 Conn. 627, or a two-year statute of limitations if the claim is based on negligence Doe v. Rackliffe, 337 Conn. 627, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584. However, if the party legally at fault for the injury has been convicted of certain specific criminal offenses, there is no time limit to bring the civil action Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-577e.
What are the general statutes of limitations for adult claimants over the age of 21 when the abuse occurred?
Because the statutory provision extending the limitation period to 30 years after reaching age 21 only applies to individuals who were under the age of 21 at the time of the abuse Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-577d, § 24.02 Determining Which Statute of Limitations Applies to a Cause of Action, an adult claimant who was not a minor at the time of the alleged abuse must rely on Connecticut’s general tort limitation periods:
- Intentional Torts: Actions founded upon an intentional tort must be brought within three years from the date of the act or omission complained of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-577, Doe v. Rackliffe, 337 Conn. 627.
- Negligence and Reckless Misconduct: Actions to recover damages for personal injury caused by negligence, or by reckless or wanton misconduct, must be brought within two years from the date when the injury is first sustained or discovered (or in the exercise of reasonable care should have been discovered) Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584. However, no such negligence or reckless misconduct action may be brought more than three years from the date of the act or omission complained of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584.
Does an Exception Apply to Criminal Convictions?
Notwithstanding the general two-year and three-year limitation periods, an action to recover damages for personal injury caused by sexual assault may be brought at any time after the date of the act complained of if the party legally at fault for the injury has been criminally convicted of a violation of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-70 (sexual assault in the first degree) or Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-70a (aggravated sexual assault in the first degree) Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-577e.