ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – The Roman Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts and deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein are among the defendants facing sex abuse lawsuits in New York as the state moves to allow molestation lawsuits that had been blocked by the statute of limitations.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of people were expected to sue Wednesday, the first day of the one-year window for older molestation cases.
A woman who says she was raped by Epstein as a teenager in 2002 is suing his estate and three of his associates.
State lawmakers extended the statute of limitations this year for new victims and gave those with older abuse claims one year to sue their abusers or institutions or businesses that employed them.
New York’s old statute of limitations was among America’s most restrictive.
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Thousands of people who say they were molested as children in New York state plan to file lawsuits this week against their alleged abusers and the institutions where they worked.
The Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts, public schools and hospitals are among the many institutions expected to be named as defendants in the suits.
The first cases will be filed Wednesday, the start of a one-year litigation window in New York allowing people to file civil lawsuits that had previously been barred by the state’s statute of limitations, which were among the nation’s tightest.
Lawmakers voted this year to extend the statute of limitations going forward and to create the one-year litigation window to give victims a new chance to file lawsuits.
