Thousands of people are suing Maryland under the Child Victims Act, a 2023 law that lifted the 20-year statute of limitations on lawsuits against public and private entities — including schools, religious institutions and local or state agencies — involving incidents of sexual abuse, Stateline reports. Survivors can seek damages against state and local governments of up to $890,000 for each occurrence of abuse. The cap is higher for cases against private institutions, at $1.5 million. Since the law took effect, more than 3,500 people have filed lawsuits against Maryland state agencies, many alleging abuse in the state’s juvenile detention facilities. The state is negotiating settlements outside of court, but there are at least 29 additional pending complaints, which include hundreds more plaintiffs, across various courts. In recent years, lawsuits alleging sexual or physical abuse by juvenile correctional officers and other detention center staff have emerged in more than a dozen states, including California, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Washington. Between 2000 and 2015, recurring abuse was documented in state-funded juvenile detention facilities in 29 states and the District of Columbia, according to a 2023 report by The Sentencing Project.
In early March, 30 officers at a California juvenile detention facility were charged with child abuse and endangerment for allegedly allowing fighting or orchestrating “gladiator fights” between detainees as young as 12 and as old as 18. Last week, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek fired the longtime director of the Oregon Youth Authority as the agency faced scrutiny over a backlog of mishandled abuse reports. And 10 men filed a lawsuit alleging they were sexually abused as boys in a state juvenile center. Changes in state laws have paved the way for many of the new lawsuits. The nonprofit Child USA, which tracks child victim laws. , found that more than a dozen states have changed their laws since 2020 to give survivors more time to sue. This year, legislatures in at least 15 states are considering bills that would expand the statute of limitations on child sex abuse cases, according to Child USA. In Maryland, some lawmakers have grown alarmed at the potential fallout. A court filing requesting an extension in a case before the Baltimore County Circuit Court noted that an additional 4,000 or more claimants may file similar suits against the state..The growing number of lawsuits is forcing Maryland legislators to reconsider aspects of the sweeping law. Democratic Del. C.T. Wilson, the architect of the Child Victims Act, proposed changes that could cap damages and clarify how abuse claims are defined.
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