Survivors of child sexual abuse in Louisiana will have a longer window to file lawsuits against their abusers.
Louisiana Supreme Court / Photo via Google Earth
The Louisiana Legislature voted in late May to extend the “look back” window for survivors of child sexual abuse another three years to June 14, 2027. The look back period is a window allowing survivors, who would otherwise be barred by the statute of limitations, a chance to sue perpetrators in civil court. It was originally set to expire on June 14, 2024.
Louisiana is one of 30 states that have passed “look back” or revival windows for child sexual abuse survivors, according to ChildUSA.
Because of their trauma, sexual abuse survivors often delay reporting the conduct for years. In the case of child sex abuse, the average age at the time of reporting is about 52 years, Briggham Winkler, general editor for the Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention, told MinistryWatch last year. He added that most survivors probably never disclose the abuse they suffer.
The Louisiana revival window was challenged at the Louisiana Supreme Court. In March, the court had ruled 4-3 that the law conflicted with due process rights in the state constitution. Then, in May, the court agreed to reconsider the case.
Last week, the state supreme court upheld the “look back” window by a 5-2 ruling, reversing its earlier ruling.
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“For many victims of child sexual abuse, the revival provision represents their first and only opportunity to bring suit,” Weimer wrote in the court opinion. “Providing that opportunity to those victims is a legitimate legislative purpose.”
Dissenting Justices James Genovese and Jefferson Hughes argued in the dissent that the ruling “obliterates” decades of precedent and “elevates a legislative act over a constitutional right.”
This week, news broke that Texas megachurch pastor Robert Morris has been accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s. A revival window might allow the survivor to pursue legal recourse from Morris for his alleged actions. Attorney Boz Tchividjian is helping her consider her legal options.
Oklahoma, where the survivor claims the abuse happened, is not among states that have passed a civil “look back window” under which child abuse victims could file suit.
While Tchividjian supports the “look back windows,” he would eliminate statutes of limitations in sexual abuse cases altogether.
“I’m not really a fan of statutes of limitations to begin with because they are arbitrary and a result of political negotiations,” he told MinistryWatch last year.
If a case is really old, it will have enough challenges, like lack of evidence or difficulty finding witnesses, without being barred by the statute of limitations, Tchividjian said. He thinks the justice system should vet these cases.
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