G&E represents survivors of child sex abuse, helping them bring justice to the perpetrators who harmed them. G&E’s team of civil rights attorneys are currently advocating for adult sexual abuse survivors who were abused by teachers and clergy members as children, sitting silent for decades but now are seeking the justice they deserve.
G&E’s civil rights attorneys are representing survivors under New York law known as The Child Victims Act, bringing claims against priests, coaches, doctors and others for sexual assaults that occurred decades ago. After the New York Child Victims Act went into effect in 2019, which opened a two-year lookback window for sex abuse survivors of any age to file actions against abusers and/or institutions that covered up their crimes, even if the incident(s) occurred decades ago, several other states have been working toward lifting the statute of limitations for survivors to bring a claim. These survivors now have more time to bring lawsuits against their abusers.
In the state of Maryland, new legislation known as the Child Victims Act of 2023 has lifted the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file a lawsuit. G&E and co-counsel represent many of these survivors who now have the opportunity to take action against their perpetrators as well as the institutions protecting the abusers. The bill’s passage came after the release of a Maryland Attorney General grand jury report outlining hundreds of claims of child sex abuse in the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore spanning over 80 years. The report exposes publicly the names of dozens of clergy members who skirted their transgressions for decades.
In addition to the Baltimore Archdiocese survivors, G&E represents dozens of adult survivors of sexual abuse who are bringing claims against:
- The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
- Maryknoll
- Rockefeller University Hospital
- Boy Scouts of America
Many of these survivors had lodged claims spanning 35 years against youth sports coach Edwin “Ted” Gaynor, who had confessed to some of his acts before he passed away.
Survivors often feel a sense of catharsis; solidarity with other survivors and solidarity with the child they once were who suffered at the hands of a pedophile. For more information about how G&E helps adult survivors of sexual abuse, please click here.
