child victims act

An investigative report released earlier this year by the Gow School, a southern Erie County boarding school for students with dyslexia, found accusations of sexual abuse there in the 1990s, but no evidence of failure to act by the school’s administrators. Three lawsuits, however, allege the school failed to protect its students.

His revelation nearly three years ago of sexual abuse by a priest within the Diocese of Buffalo touched off a wave of further complaints, which soon led to the departure of former diocesan leaders. Michael Whalen, when asked about the lawsuit filed against the diocese Monday by the New York State Attorney General, called the action "a big stepping stone" toward justice.

Saying he has failed to live up to promises of more transparency and outreach those affected, advocates for clergy sex abuse victims called Thursday for the removal of Bishop Edward Scharfenberger from his leadership post at the Diocese of Buffalo.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is extending a one-year lookback window for victims of childhood sexual abuse to file lawsuits for an additional five months, to mid-January.

The Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy Tuesday under the weight of hundreds of childhood sexual abuse cases filed against the organization. Seattle-based attorney Jason Amala, who is handling 75 cases in New York, said the news is a mixed bag for his clients.

The University at Buffalo Law School on Monday hosted a look at the Child Victims Act, the new state law that has reopened New York's history of sexual abuse for a one-year window. The law allows victims to go to court against abusers, even if the abuse occurred decades ago.

Bishop Richard Malone, leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, stated once again Wednesday he is obligated to lead the diocese through its tough times and, thus, he will not resign. Meanwhile, hours after WKBW-TV broadcast a story featuring audio secretly recorded by Malone's former secretary, the bishop suggested Fr. Ryszard Biernat broke church law by doing so.

It was an emotional day Wednesday, as hundreds of childhood sexual abuse survivors filed lawsuits in New York courts on the first day of a one-year window of opportunity for victims to seek civil action against their abusers.

More priests affiliated with the Buffalo Catholic Diocese are being publicly accused of sexually abusing children. Five members of the clergy – three living and two deceased – are among those newly named in lawsuits filed Wednesday, as New York’s Child Victims Act one-year lookback window went into effect.

At 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, the one-year window of opportunity opened for many child sex abuse plaintiffs who were unable to pursue litigation under the statute of limitation.

More than 230 cases are already expected to be filed in Erie County during the statewide one-year window that starts Wednesday and allows survivors of child sex abuse to file charges against their abuser—regardless of when the abuse took place.

The Boy Scouts of America are hitting back at lawyers who say the BSA will be sued in New York State late this summer over sexual abuse by scouting leaders. National scout leaders say they have actively barred possible abusers from the organization's activities.

A Niagara County woman, who alleges being sexually assaulted by a Catholic priest when she was a teenager is suing the Diocese of Buffalo. It is believed to be the first suit of its kind, locally, since the state's Child Victims Act was signed into law earlier this month.

More victims of sexual abuse will get a chance to tell their story, perhaps to a jury, after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Child Victims Act into law Thursday.

As the Child Victims Act was being approved Monday, four victims were in an Amherst law firm conference room with their attorneys, talking about their cases and what the new law does for them.