California’s Historic New Child Victims Act a Child Protection Milestone
Law Firm, Survivors and Advocates to Announce Filing of Lawsuits Under New Law at Series of Press Events Friday–Thursday; Throughout California
(California) – Jeff Anderson & Associates, a national law firm that represents survivors of child sexual abuse, is launching a major child protection initiative in California.
At nine press conferences Friday, December 27, through Thursday, January 2, throughout California, attorneys from the firm, along with advocates and child sexual abuse survivors, will announce the filing of 12 clergy sexual abuse lawsuits in eight California dioceses under California’s historic new Child Victims Act (CVA). The CVA extends the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse and opens a three-year window for survivors of child sexual abuse to take legal action, no matter when the abuse occurred or how old the survivor was at the time of the abuse.
Jeff Anderson & Associates Championed the New Law in California
Jeff Andersons & Associates pioneered the use of civil litigation to help sexual abuse survivors hold their abusers and the institutions that protected those abusers accountable for the abuse they suffered as children. Jeff Anderson & Associates was active in the development of and championed the new law in California, which opens the courthouse doors to survivors.
“The new law will help protect countless children and help many survivors seek justice and healing,” said attorney Jeff Anderson of Jeff Anderson & Associates. “This law is historic and a major advancement in the child protection movement.”
Anderson has worked with survivors of child sex abuse for 37 years. Jeff Anderson & Associates is widely recognized as one of the most prolific and successful litigators of clergy sexual abuse cases against churches and other institutions throughout the nation.
Child Protection Leader in California and Throughout United States
Jeff Anderson & Associates has offices throughout California including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Orange County. The firm will be filing hundreds of cases under California’s new Child Victims Act. The firm is partnering with multiple prominent California attorneys and law firms to help survivors throughout California. Co-counsel include Greenberg Gross in Southern California, Joe George Jr. in Sacramento and Mary Alexander in San Francisco – all known throughout California and the nation and proven to be experienced, highly respected and successful litigators and survivor advocates.
Jeff Anderson & Associates also has local offices in New York, New Jersey and Minnesota. The firm is leading child protection initiatives in those three states, all of which recently enacted laws similar to California’s Child Victims Act and opened windows for seeking justice. New York’s one-year window opened on August 14, 2019. New Jersey’s two-year window opened on December 1, 2019. Minnesota’s three-year window closed on May 25, 2016. Jeff Anderson & Associates represents hundreds of survivors in New York, New Jersey and Minnesota.
Jeff Anderson & Associates is also helping lead the Child Protection Movement in Hawaii (window open through April 24, 2020), Arizona (window open through December 31, 2020) and Montana (one-year window opened on May 7, 2019), states that also recently enacted laws similar to California’s. Jeff Anderson & Associates is prominent in working with survivors in those states and throughout the country, and as a result of new window legislation in various states, these efforts have resulted in exposing hundreds of perpetrators and thousands of pages of documents publicly.
The Anderson Report: Clergy Perpetrators in California
Jeff Anderson & Associates has released several reports on clergy perpetrators in California dioceses and archdioceses. Each report contains the names, photographs and assignment histories of clergy members accused of child sexual abuse in a specific diocese or archdiocese. The reports include the following:
- The Anderson Report: Clerical Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, released on October 2, 2018 includes more than 300 accused clergy in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
- The Anderson Report: Clergy Sexual Abuse in the Bay Area (Archdiocese of San Francisco, Diocese of Oakland and Diocese of San Jose), released on October 23, 2018 includes more than 130 accused clergy in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, more than 90 accused clergy in the Diocese of Oakland, and more than 30 accused clergy in the Diocese of San Jose.
- The Anderson Report: Clerical Sexual Abuse in the Diocese of Orange, released on December 6, 2018 includes more than 70 accused clergy in the Diocese of Orange.
- The Anderson Report: Clerical Sexual Abuse in the Diocese of San Bernardino, released on January 30, 2019 includes more than 80 accused clergy in the Diocese of San Bernardino.
- The Anderson Report: Sexual Abuse in the Diocese of Fresno, released on June 5, 2019 includes more than 40 accused clergy in the Diocese of Fresno.
Press Events December 27, December 30, December 31, January 1 and January 2 in California
Starting Friday, December 27 in Los Angeles, Jeff Anderson & Associates will launch the first of a series of press events throughout California where survivors, advocates, and attorneys will announce the filings of multiple lawsuits under the California CVA. Additional press releases will detail each event, scheduled as follows:
- Friday, December 27, 10AM (PT) Los Angeles, California
- Friday, December 27, 1PM (PT) Orange, California
- Monday, December 30 (Time TBD) San Francisco, California
- Monday, December 30 (Time TBD) Santa Rosa, California
- Monday, December 30 (Time TBD) Riverside, California
- Tuesday, December 31 (Time TBD) Oakland, California
- Wednesday, January 1 (Time TBD) San Jose, California
- Wednesday, January 1 (Time TBD) Salinas, California
- Thursday, January 2, (Time TBD) Fresno, California
All press conferences will be live-streamed via YouTube and on Facebook
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