Maryland Child Victims Act constitutionality may hinge on state legislature's intent when it previously updated the child sexual abuse statute of limitations in 2017.
Law removed the statute of limitations for Maryland child sexual abuse lawsuits, allowing claims to be pursued against perpetrators and entities that enabled the conduct, regardless of how long ago the assault occurred.
Although the state legislature recently removed the Maryland child sexual abuse lawsuit statute of limitations, survivors still face a May 31st deadline to file claims against the Archdiocese of Baltimore under a bankruptcy order
Maryland Child Victims Act was enacted last year, allowing child sex abuse lawsuits to be filed by survivors, regardless of how long ago the acts occurred.
Archdiocese of Washington indicates it will appeal the ruling to the Maryland Supreme Court, challenging the constitutionality of the Maryland Child Victims Act, which removed the statute of limitations for sexual assaults on children
More than 500 child sexual abuse lawsuits were filed against the Archdiocese of San Francisco after California temporarily lifted statute of limitations barriers.
Settlement comes after the Catholic Diocese of Syracuse filed for bankruptcy in 2020, as a growing number of clergy child sexual abuse lawsuits were filed, which had once been time-barred by the New York statute of limitation.
Former director formed the Maryland Boychoir the same year he was fired for allegedly sexually abusing a choirboy years earlier in the Catholic Church.
The report is the latest by a state detailing years of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests
Catholic churches will now face child sex abuse lawsuits in Maryland that have previously been barred by the state's statute of limitations
