The Rockville Center Diocese on Long Island has filed a motion that says the Child Victims Act is unconstitutional because it suspends the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse for a whole year.
Dozens of child abuse lawsuits have been filed against the Diocese under the Child Victims Act, or CVA.
Dominique Penson, an attorney representing clients against the Rockville Center Diocese, says the motion could have huge implications.
“Anybody with a child sex abuse case brought past the age of 23 would have their case dismissed. Every CVA case that’s been brought since August 14, when the statute went into effect, would now become dismissable.”
Penson says the motion is not likely to be approved because the statute of limitations can be lifted for reasonable circumstances.
He says it can take decades for a victim of sexual abuse to even remember the trauma.
