MINNESOTA
KSTP
Joe Augustine
Updated: 05/20/2016
Survivors of child sex abuse in Minnesota have only five days left to file a claim under a state law that opened a window for civil lawsuits outside the statute of limitations. A state lawmaker says it is doubtful survivors will have another opportunity to take legal action, and advocates say it’s putting pressure on victims who may not feel ready to come forward.
The deadline to file civil claims under Minnesota’s Child Victim’s Act expires May 25.
Cordelia Anderson, a nationally recognized expert on child sex abuse prevention who has counseled adult survivors for forty years, says the deadline has created a “ticking time bomb.”
“What I’ve been hearing is just some painful pressure,” Anderson said Friday.
She believes the state should extend the deadline, re-open the window in the future or, in a perfect world, throw out statute of limitations in old sex abuse cases.
She says many survivors did not know about the state law or thought it only applied to victims of clergy abuse.
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