In 2021, the Maine State Legislature passed a landmark law creating a permanent revival window for previously expired child sex abuse (CSA), child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and trafficking claims. This law removed procedural barriers that had long prevented survivors from seeking justice...
Landmark Rulings in North Carolina and Maryland Affirm Access to Justice for Survivors
Last week, I wrote about the deeply disappointing decision from the Maine Supreme Court striking down the state’s revival window for child sex abuse (CSA) claims. Since then, the Arkansas Court of Appeals also ruled that their 2021 revival window could not be applied to revive claims against...
Watching the Clock in California
Leslie C. Griffin* Do you remember Roman Polanski? Polanski, now 91 years old, is a famous movie director and actor, known, especially, for directing the films Rosemary’s Baby and Chinatown. He left the United States for France in 1978, after he pled guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl,...
Settling Sex Abuse Cases Against Catholic California Clergymen
Leslie C. Griffin* Roman Polanski is a famous movie director and actor, known for directing the films Rosemary’s Baby and Chinatown. He left the United States for France in 1978, after he pled guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl, Samantha Geimer. He worried that the judge in that case...
Fabricating the Truth: Deception Around Vaccines is Putting our Children at Risk
Written December 7, 2023 by Jennifer Wilczynski, Esq., Staff Attorney, CHILD USA Fabricating the Truth: Deception Around Vaccines is Putting our Children at Risk The science of vaccination against childhood diseases was once widely accepted throughout the world, until former UK doctor Andrew...
Boy Scouts of America Survivors Re-Victimized by the Statute of Limitations
Written by Paul Jan Zdunek, COO at Miller Kaplan, an Instructor at UCLA and a Partner at Tipping Point Strategists. Paul is proud to be an advocate for SOL reform and for legislative change in Maryland. **Content warning: this blog may contain content that could trigger some readers.** My...
The History of Children’s Rights
CHILD USA is working every day to ensure that children have a seat at the policy table to ensure their rights are protected. But why is this something we need to fight for? At the founding of our country, only the rights of a select few were included in the protections written by our Founding...
Jason Berry – The Sean P. McIlmail Hero Award
A prolific, pioneering writer and documentary filmmaker, Jason Berry’s work to reveal the Catholic Church’s cover-up of widespread sexual abuse has encompassed a good portion of his professional life. As he says, “I have worked at trying to understand the two major stories of my life: New Orleans,...
CHILD USA is Shining a Light on the Institutional Failure in the Catholic Church’s Diocese with Child Sex Abuse
In 2002, the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team broke a story that would unleash an avalanche of disturbing revelations about the catholic church. For decades, thousands of children had been sexually abused by priests – men in positions of power, prestige, and trust. Catholic leaders often knew about...