The bill amends Section 9-1-51 of the General Laws in Chapter 9-1 entitled "Causes of Action" to eliminate the statute of limitations for all claims or causes of action for recovery of damages for injury suffered as a result of sexual abuse or exploitation of a child. The new legal language inserted into the current law states that such claims shall not be subject to any statute of limitations, regardless of whether the claim may have lapsed or was time-barred under previous versions of the general laws. This applies to claims against any party, including those related to negligent supervision or conduct that caused or contributed to childhood sexual abuse, as well as wrongful conduct, neglect, or default in supervision, hiring, employment, training, monitoring, or failure to report and/or concealment of sexual abuse of a minor.

The bill also specifies that the victim does not need to establish which act in a series of continuing sexual abuse incidents caused the injury, but may compute the date of discovery from the date of the last act by the same perpetrator. It clarifies that the knowledge of a custodial parent or guardian is not imputed to a person under the age of eighteen. The definition of "child" is a person under the age of eighteen years, and "sexual abuse" is defined as any act by the defendant against a complainant who was less than eighteen years of age at the time of the act and which would have been a criminal violation of chapter 37 of title 11. The act would take effect upon passage.

Statutes affected:
5510: 9-1-51