The Colorado Child Sexual Abuse Accountability Act Provides Long-Awaited Reform for Abuse Survivors
(Denver, CO) – Child sexual abuse victims in Colorado have a new opportunity for healing and accountability beginning Saturday, January 1, 2022, when Colorado’s three-year “window” provision of the Child Sexual Abuse Accountability Act (CSAAA) for survivors to take legal action takes effect.
“This is a monumental day for survivors who were abused as children in Colorado,” said attorney Jeff Anderson of Jeff Anderson & Associates, who is working in partnership with Colorado-based firm Keating Wagner Polidori Free. “The courageous victims coming forward and holding perpetrators and powerful institutions accountable is truly inspiring. The survivors who are taking action today provide a safer environment for children of the future.”
The legislation was signed into law following the release of Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser’s report of “Roman Catholic Clergy Sexual Abuse of Children in Colorado from 1950 to 2019.” The three-year window gives survivors abused on or after January 1, 1960, until December 31, 2024, to take legal action for the abuse they suffered as children. In addition to opening the three-year window to allow survivors to bring claims where the statute of limitations has previously expired, Colorado also removed the statute of limitations for sexual assault claims moving forward.
“Holding abusers accountable is a step toward healing and recovery for their victims,” said Zachary Warzel of Keating Wagner Polidori Free. “To anyone in Colorado that is a current or past survivor of sexual abuse, the law is now on your side.”