NY Faces Reckoning As Historic Child Victims Act Window Closes

NEW YORK CITY — A historic two-year period in New York law that allowed survivors of child sex abuse to sue those they hold responsible years after the statute of limitations lapsed ended last Friday.

More than 9,000 lawsuits were filed within the Child Victims Act look-back window with accused perpetrators including priests, scout leaders, teachers, a Saturday Night Live star and a member of the British royal family.

“I’m proud I’m not going to let him win,” said Susan Kryhoski, 40, when she filed suit against Dr. Joseph Silverman, an anorexia researcher she says repeatedly abused her nearly 30 years ago. She gave Patch permission to identify her.

Ultimately, it was the birth of her daughter that spurred Kryhoski to accuse Silverman, whom she said abused her for months as an inpatient at a New York City children’s ward, in court.

“He quite frankly took my life from me,” Kryhoski said. "That 11-year-old girl I was, and wasn't allowed to be, is in her."

New York is among 24 states that have instituted look-back windows for survivors to sue perpetrators, regardless of statutes passed, according to a law tracker from think tank Child USA.

But New York's case count far excels other states with a number Manhattan Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal expects to have surpassed 10,000.

“Tragically, the amount of people who filed cases shows how pervasive the problem of child sex abuse has been,” Rosenthal said.

Rosenthal, the Child Victims Act co-sponsor, called the legislation a “roaring success” because it provided survivors a platform to seek justice and augmented New Yorker’s understanding of abuse.

“Maybe we all become more vigilant about protecting children,” Rosenthal said. “More alert to the dangers.”

A Child USA analysis — which covers suits dated from Aug. 14 2019, when the look-back began, to Aug. 9, 2021 — showed 9,241 cases were filed within the near two-year window.

The districts with the most cases filed as of Aug. 9 were Manhattan, with 1,922, and Brooklyn, with 1,258, according to New York State Unified Court System data.

More than half of suits, roughly 52 percent, named religious institutions as defendants while about 16 percent named youth-serving organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America and about 13 percent named schools, Child USA data show.

Catholic and public schools made up the majority of education institutions named at about 54 and 34 percent respectively.

"This is a warning bell to parents that they need to be proactive about the safety of their child in every scenario," said CEO Marci Hamilton.

An estimated 15 to 20 percent of New Yorkers were sexually abused as children, which makes between 3 and 4 million survivors, according to the Child USA CEO.

Said Hamilton, "There are a lot more cases that could have been brought."

The Child Victims Act addressed what advocates characterize as a conflict between the justice system’s reliance on statutes of limitations and the lengthy reverberations of trauma experienced by child victims.

One of the initial hurdles in passing the look-back window was that many lawmakers didn't understand that child victims often cannot immediately step forward, said Michael Polenberg of Safe Horizon, the nation’s largest victim assistance organization.

An Oscar Award changed the narrative.

“‘Spotlight’ came out and it won the Oscar,”Polenberg said. “It sunk in with lawmakers why somebody might not come forward.”

A tidal wave of lawsuits hit in the final weeks before the window closed, state and Child USA data shows.

New York’s number of cases jumped by more than 2,000 — from 7,339 on July 21 to 9,421 on Aug. 9 — constituting more than 20 percent of the total, according to the Child USA report.

Several lawyers Hamilton spoke to were forced to turn clients away as the deadline approached, she said.

Attorney Jeff Anderson told the Associated Press that alleged victims were still coming forward at the window’s closing because of how difficult it remains to speak out.

Allegations of child sex abuse can also spur a backlash from accused perpetrators.

When Jane Doe, as she is named in court records, filed suit against Horatio Sanz, the star’s attorney called her allegations “ludicrous” and suggested the anonymous woman sought money and media attention.

Media attention is why many survivors opt for settlements outside of court, according to attorney Barry Salzman, who represented 20 alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein.

These are women who did not want to expose themselves to a long litigation process where their names would be publicized,” Salzman said.

For other clients, a guilty verdict is not the final goal.

State Sen. Brad Hoylman, a Child Victims Act co-sponsor, said it was a constituent who spurred him to advocate for the legislation in the State Senate.

“His abuser was still teaching in school,” Hoylman said of the man he credited with the legislation's passage. “I think it’s really due to people like Michael speaking out … Those stories really move mountains.”

The teacher has since been removed from the school, Hoylman said.

Child Victims Act cases come with drastic financial repercussions as well, even before they make it to court.

Institutions that declared bankruptcy in the face of mounting litigation include half of New York’s eight Roman Catholic diocese — including the largest in the U.S., the Diocese of Rockville Centre — and the Boy Scouts of America.

As part of their bankruptcy protection, in 2020 the Boy Scouts of America agreed in July to put aside $850 million for child sex abuse victims who stepped forward.

“We understand that nothing the BSA does as an organization will undo the pain that survivors have endured,” said a spokesperson in an email. “But we have taken important steps in an effort to support survivors’ healing process and prevent abuse.”

As Albany lawmakers grapple to adapt to an impending power shift caused by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation, Assembly Member Rosenthal hopes to push forward legislation she says the allegations of sexual harassment against him have proven to be vital.

The Adult Survivors Act, which has passed in the Senate but not the Assembly, would create a similar one-year window for adult survivor’s civil suits after the statute lapsed.

But ultimately, advocates such as Rosenthal and Hamilton don’t believe there should be any limits on when a victim can step forward.

“I don’t believe we should have statutes of limitations,” Rosenthal said. “The repercussions don’t end just because the statute of limitation ends.”