Schools are meant to be places of learning, and we trust them with our children’s safety every day. Sometimes they fail, leaving school sex abuse victims with trauma that can be difficult to overcome.

If you were the victim of school sex abuse, you deserve compensation for the injustice you suffered. In New York, victims may have until age 55 to file their lawsuits. This is helpful since multiple parties might be liable for your abuse. While your abuser will be directly responsible, the school or its teachers and staff could also be at fault if they failed to take action where they were required to.

If you or your child was the victim of school sex abuse, our attorneys for school sex abuse can help you get compensation for the trauma you suffered. Contact The Carrion Law Firm today at (718) 841-0083 for a free case review.

Filing a Lawsuit for School Sex Abuse in Queens

School sex abuse cases are some of the most challenging ones to litigate for a number of reasons. Of course, the incident itself can be difficult for the victims to deal with again when the details of their abuse come out during the investigation. Another common issue in school sex abuse cases in Queens is that the abuse often happened years ago, with victims seeking justice as adults.

While school sex abuse victims had a great deal of trouble in the past bringing a claim for abuse because their cases were filed after the statute of limitations passed, that is no longer the case. Under the New York Child Victims Act, C.V.P. Law § 208(b), school sex abuse victims have until the age of 55 to file a lawsuit against the parties responsible, but with some limitations. C.V.P. Law § 214-G provides a retroactive period for victims who were ineligible to file when the new law passed because they missed the previous statutory window. However, the law only extended the filing time for two and a half years from the date the law passed, which closed on August 14, 2021. Unfortunately, this means if you are under 55 and were time-barred from filing a case under the old law, you will likely be barred from bringing a case since the lookback window is now closed.

Before the law was passed, victims had only until the age of 23 to file their lawsuits, so speak with an attorney to find out if that law still applies or if your deadline to file was extended until age 55. Our school sex abuse attorneys can help you prepare your claim and ensure your rights are protected throughout the litigation process.

Recognizing School Sex Abuse in Queens

Abuse comes in many forms, but none are arguably as destructive as sexual abuse. Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to identify sexual abuse as the signs can vary from case to case. Added to this is the embarrassing nature of the abuse, which might encourage a victim to keep silent about it. Also, it can be difficult to determine where the abuse is coming from. The abuser could be a teacher, administrator, or member of the school staff. The abuse could be coming from the child’s home or being committed during extracurricular school events.

In some cases, sexual abuse might be committed at the school by other students. School bullying has received increased attention in the social media age as the effects on children seem profound. Sometimes, bullying goes beyond normal verbal abuse and leads to violent sexual abuse. If the school knew about it or did nothing to prevent the bullying that led to it from occurring, they are just as liable as the abuser.

In other cases, it is common for victims not even to realize they were abuse victims. Some children, typically high school students, might be led to believe that they were in a consensual relationship with an adult and that there was nothing wrong with what the adult was doing. However, children cannot consent to a relationship with an adult, and the adult cannot claim they did not know it was wrong. This is why New York law allows the extended timeline to file a lawsuit. If you were the victim of school sex abuse or believe you have been taken advantage of, our school sex abuse attorneys can help you get the justice you deserve.

Who Can be Held Liable for School Sex Abuse in Queens

Determining liability for school sex abuse is one of the factors that make these cases so challenging. While there is no question that the abuser is liable for their heinous acts, other parties could share the blame when the case centers around sex abuse at school. There are laws in place to ensure that schools and their staff report signs of abuse they notice and make them liable if they fail to do so. If a teacher or the school failed to notice your abuse or covered it up in some way, you can name them in your lawsuit along with your abuser.

The School

When our firm investigates a school sex abuse case, we look at the school itself to see what role it played in your claim. If the school fails to protect you while under its care, it can be held liable for the abuse you suffered.

A school can be held responsible for sexual abuse if it received reports about a student’s abuse but did nothing to address it. This typically occurs when the school receives reports of abuse from students or parents but fails to investigate the claims or report them to the authorities. Schools can also be held liable for hiring a teacher they should have known was a risk for abuse. If a teacher were fired from another school because of reports of abusive conduct, the hiring school would have known that if they had conducted a proper background check. Our school sex abuse attorneys can review your case to determine if the school you attended while you were abused should be named in your lawsuit.

School Staff Members

School staff members might also be liable for the sexual abuse done to one of their students. Because a student’s teachers and other support staff interact more with them than most others, they are mandatory reporters under New York law. This means that a teacher or other staff member is required to report signs of abuse, even if they only suspect the child is being abused. If a teacher or staff member does not report the abuse, they can be held directly liable for their failure to report.

In other cases, the teacher or staff member might be the abuser. It should go without saying that these relationships are beyond inappropriate, but it still occurs. Some adults know they are in a trusted position and take advantage of this when abusing a student. Our school sex abuse attorneys can help you determine every party that should be held liable for the abuse you suffered.

Our Queens Attorneys for School Sex Abuse Claims Can Help

If you or your child was sexually abused in school, our attorneys for school sex abuse can help you and your family get justice from the perpetrators. For a free case evaluation, call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.