A bill proposed to extend the statute of limitations for victims of sexual abuse was pulled from the calendar after the NYS Assembly decided it did not have enough votes to pass.  The current version of the Child Victims Act provides victims of child sexual abuse to report the crime and/or file a civil action for damagers against the abusers five years from their 18^th birthdays.  The proposed bill attempted to extend the statute of limitations such that the five year period began to run on victims’ 23^rd birthdays, allowing them to press charges or file a civil action until age 28.  The bill also offered a one-year period of time during which any victim of childhood sexual abuse could press charges and/or file civil actions against their abusers, no matter when the alleged act occurred, with this time period to expire one year after the law became effective.

The bill was also proposed during the 2006, 2007 and 2008 legislative sessions, having passed the NYS Assembly but failing to receive the necessary votes from the Senate. 

The Catholic Church has been one of the most vocal opponents of the Child Victims Act, fearing that a significant number of lawsuits would be filed during the one year suspension on the statute of limitations, and thus bankrupting the church.

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