Lawsuit wave expected as New Jersey eases sex abuse limits

The loosening of limits on sexual abuse claims in New Jersey is expected to create a tectonic shift in the way those lawsuits are brought, giving hope to victims who have long suffered in silence and exposing a broader spectrum of institutions to potential liability.

A law passed last spring goes into effect Sunday and allows child victims to sue until they turn 55, or within seven years of their first realisation that the abuse caused them harm.

The limit was two years before the new law. Adult victims also have seven years from the discovery of the abuse, and victims who were previously barred by the statute of limitations have a two-year window to file claims.

That's welcome news for people like Dennis Bachman, a 40-year-old construction worker from Westville, in southern New Jersey, who plans to file a lawsuit alleging a female counselor sexually abused him at a home for juveniles in Salem County.

He said last week it took him a long time to recognise he had been abused, in part because of a misguided societal view that says damage done to boys abused by women "isn't the same" as other kinds of abuse.

"Maybe (it'll) give me a chance to make things right," Bachman said.

"I caused so much damage in my life in so many different ways. I figured maybe this would give me a chance to settle some things."
Attorney Robert Fuggi said a key component of the law is that it removes an earlier provision that held a person acting in loco parentis, or "in place of a parent," could only be liable if the abuse occurred "within the household."