Justice extended, justice fulfilled: Victims of childhood molestation deserve extra time to confront their abusers

Slightly less than 18 months ago, Gov. Cuomo visited the Daily News newsroom to sign into law the Child Victims Act, opening state courthouse doors that had been slammed shut to survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

The law expanded, going forward, the period after a victim’s 18th birthday when they can bring civil or criminal charges against an individual or file a civil complaint against an institution -- and created a one-year “look-back” window for the retrospective filing of claims where the statute of limitations had expired. Under the law, that window closes Aug. 14.

No one could have anticipated a catastrophic pandemic that would close courts for months and render people largely immobile for longer. In May, the governor extended the look-back window five months via executive order. As well-intentioned as it was, there are reasonable fears it may be vulnerable to legal challenge.

Sen. Brad Hoylman and Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, authors of the original bill, would write the change into statute and go further, extending the window another 12 months. The reform passed overwhelmingly in May.

Cuomo should sign the bill, ensuring those molested as minors have the full and fair chance to seek justice as the Legislature intended.

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