Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Andrew Cuomo Pushing to End Statute of Limitations for Child Sex Abuse Suits

New York State governor Andrew Cuomo has a new proposal that would lift the statute of limitations that has prevented victims of sex abuse from seeking justice for crimes committed against them as children.

According to a report in the New York Daily News, Cuomo’s proposed bill would end all time limits on criminal prosecutions of sexual abusers of children, and would allow victims to bring civil suits for up to 50 years after they were attacked.

In addition, the law would create a one-year period in which otherwise ineligible survivors would be entitled to bring lawsuits against their abusers.

Cuomo has been promising action on the issue for years, but has faced stiff opposition from Republicans in the New York State Senate, among others. The Orthodox umbrella group Agudath Israel of America has lobbied against an extension of the statute, as have other religious groups.

It’s unclear if things will be different this time. “These survivors deserve justice, plain and simple,” Cuomo told the Daily News. “Giving victims the opportunity to advance their claims in court is the right thing to do and I urge the Legislature to join me and pass this measure once and for all.”

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected]

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.