Has someone sexually abused you or someone you loved when they were a child in New Jersey? The New Jersey Child Victims Act allows victims to come forward and seek justice against their abuser and the institution that allowed the abuse. Contact our experienced sex abuse lawyers here at Herman Law today to understand how you can file a claim.
The New Jersey Child Victims Act went into effect on December 1st, 2019. This New Jersey law opened a two-year period of “revival” in which victims of child abuse may file claims against their abusers even if the statute of limitations is up. This period will close on November 30th, 2021, unless granted an extension. If someone sexually abused you or a loved one as a child in New Jersey, do not hesitate — contact Herman Law immediately to understand your legal rights and whether you can still file a claim.
The New Jersey Child Victims Act provides an additional two years for victims of child sex crimes to come forward and sue their abuser(s). It also introduces a new law that extends the statute of limitations in other child sexual abuse cases—victims may now file claims against their abusers until age 55 or within seven years of realizing that abuse occurred. The bill title states that it “extends the statute of limitations in civil actions for sexual abuse claims; expands categories of potential defendants in civil actions; creates a two-year window for parties to bring previously time-barred actions based on sexual abuse.” Even if a criminal court acquitted an abuser, they might still be held accountable in civil court. New Jersey required victims to pursue litigation within two years before these new laws—and only had until age 20 to pursue claims in civil court. This new legislation is crucial for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to heal on their road to recovery. While no one can take away the pain survivors of sexual abuse feel, holding the person and the institution responsible that allowed the abuse to happen is crucial for survivors of childhood sex abuse.
The two-year look-back window in the New Jersey Child Victims Act disregards a victim’s age and the time it has been since the alleged abuse occurred. The act’s look-back window halts the statutes of limitation in these types of sex crimes cases until November 30th, 2021. After this date, victims must file a civil claim of child sexual abuse before their victim’s 55th birthday or within seven years of realizing that abuse occurred.
Democrat Joseph F. Vitale was the state representative who initially brought the bill to the Senate. He is an active member in the Foster and Adoptive Family Services Advisory Committee, the Middlesex County Habitat for Humanity, the Mandated Health Benefits Commission, the Governor’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, and the Staffing and Oversight Review Subcommittee of the Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect.
Senator Vitale has sponsored several other bills, including, but not limited to: Bill S505 which amends emergency medical service delivery requirements Bill S516 which revises the Gestational Carrier Agreement Act Bill S523 which inserts New jersey into the Interstate Medical Licensure Act Bill S508 which requires secondary schools to conduct student substance use screenings Bill S524 which extends the length of postpartum Medicaid coverage
Vitale’s number one focus as a senator has been providing affordable healthcare. According to his website, his other priorities include:
Expanding civil rights
Preserving government ethics
Early childhood education
Bringing good-paying jobs to New Jersey
Enhancing voting rights
Fighting the drug epidemic
LGBTQIA rights
Helping New Jersey seniors
Supporting New Jersey veterans
Protecting the environment
Championing New Jersey businesses
In recent years, other states passed laws like those Vitale brought forth, changing the nature of sex crime reports — at least for some time. Most recently, Governor Cuomo of New York passed the NY Child Victims Act, disregarding the statutes of limitation in child sex abuse cases for one year. California did the same, beginning a three-year revival period on January 1st, 2020. Pennsylvania and Minnesota are currently considering the Child Victims Act, and there is an ongoing national campaign to increase state acceptance of the bill. You can find more information about this campaign here.
The New Jersey Child Victims Act is vital because it gives victims a voice they never had before. Although there are laws allowing victims to file claims before a certain age, many survivors have either not realized they have experienced abuse or not felt confident enough at a specific time to report the abuse. JD Supra, a leading legal news publication, explains, “The rationale behind all of these new Child Victims Acts is that children are often prevented from disclosing abuse due to the social, psychological and emotional trauma they experience and that they do not disclose the abuse until later in life.” In New Jersey specifically, 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys experience some form of sexual abuse before age 18—however, the state reports that 80% of this abuse goes unreported. The New Jersey Child Victims Act supports these victims, allowing them to file claims against abusers who were, in some cases, never held accountable for their actions.
Most recently, an Atlantic County man, Kayan Frazier, 29, formerly a part of the New Jersey Department of Child Protection and Permanency (NJDCP&P), was sentenced to over 20 years in prison for the production of images portraying child sex crimes. He distributed the photos on the social media site Tumblr. Frazier was also sentenced to a lifetime term of supervised release. The Sierra Sun-Times reported, “On April 12th, 2019, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office obtained a search warrant for Frazier’s residence and, while executing the warrant, observed Frazier in the company of an underage boy. Law enforcement officers recovered thousands of additional images of child sexual abuse on Frazier’s cellular telephone and other electronic media, which included images of the boy taken in Frazier’s apartment. Frazier admitted that he took the images with a cellular telephone.”
Michael E. HammerbeckNew Jersey man Michael E. Hammerbeck was also recently indicted on 24 counts of sexual assault on two young girls, ages 6 and 8, over five months in 2003. He was indicted on 11 counts of sexual assault on a teenage girl for five years on a separate charge. The teenage girl has now grown into a young woman, and NJ.com reported, “The woman told police the couple took her in after her mother abandoned her, according to court documents. The victim said she told Rosemarie Hammerbeck, 57, about her husband’s actions, but that she didn’t believe the claims, authorities said.” Authorities have not charged Hammerbeck’s wife in this matter. Hammerbeck’s charges include first-degree aggravated sexual assault, cruelty and neglect of children, endangerment, and second-degree sexual assault.
John DenutoIn 2020, authorities charged a New Jersey middle school teacher with “sexual assault of a teenager, possession of child pornography, photographing a child in a sex act and child endangerment,” reported by New Jersey 101.5. The teacher, John Denuto, was eventually indicted on aggravated criminal sexual contact, child endangerment, invasion of privacy, witness tampering, and hindering apprehension.
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal also recently announced the arrest of 31 different individuals charged with child sexual exploitation during the coronavirus pandemic. Officials charged two men in this group with sexual assault. According to ABC7, “The number of cyber tips to the New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force about potential threats to children online, including tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), remains high during the ongoing COVID emergency, with 3,324 tips received in the first six months of 2021.”
Within the first minute of the New Jersey revival period, victims filed 46 new cases. Hundreds more flooded courts in the following weeks. Across the country, in states that have passed similar child victim laws, survivors brought about 5,000 claims against the clergy alone.
According to the Child Welfare League of America, in 2015 alone, “there were 9,689 victims of abuse or neglect in New Jersey, a rate of 4.8 per 1,000 children […] Of these children, 79.5% experienced neglect, 15.2% experienced physical abuse, and 8.8% experienced sexual abuse.”
