This question is asked a lot: How long do I have to sue the parties responsible (in other words, the assaulter and/or his employer responsible for allowing the assault to happen) for my childhood rape or sexual assault?
I recently provided analysis to two local DFW newspapers concerning the Texas statute of limitations in minor-age, civil sex assault cases. I briefly discussed the criminal limitations periods as well. Here are the two articles containing my analysis:
Can Southlake Pastor’s Accuser Bring Charges Against Him?
Gateway Church Founder Robert Morris Accused Of Past Abuse. Could He Be Charged?
Generally speaking, if a person turned age 18 before September 1, 2015, then he or she had five years from the date he or she turned 18 to file a civil suit for damages based on childhood sex assault. That increased to 15 years if a person turned 18 after September 1, 2015. And if a person turned 18 after September 1, 2019, he or she now has 30 years to file a civil child sex assault lawsuit. In this context, a “child” in Texas essentially means age 16 or younger. A young person must be at least age 17 in Texas to be able to consent to sexual acts.
As I note in the articles, there are narrow circumstances in which civil limitations can be extended. One of those is that the childhood sex abuse or rape was so traumatic that the victim repressed memory of it until just recently. That is, the memory repression created an “unsound mind” (a legal term) in the victim sufficient under Texas law to prevent the statute of limitations from running until memory of the sex assault is gained. Another way to have an “unsound mind” is if the victim deals with the sex-assault trauma by turning to substance abuse. Prolonged, uninterrupted substance abuse is also a basis in Texas to claim “unsound mind” and obtain statute of limitations lengthening.
My newspaper comments were given in the context of accusations against Robert Morris, the founder and now-former senior pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake. A lady now in her 50s has accused Mr. Morris of sexually assaulting her for a few years in the mid-80s, beginning when she was just age 12. If this is true, it is sickening, inexcusable and neither Mr. Morris nor the church should obtain any leniency.
Leniency from what, you ask? Well, that’s a good question. With both the criminal and civil statutes of limitation likely expired, there is not a lot this lady can do. Mr. Morris probably has a pretty good limitations defense, both in criminal and civil court.
Unless, of course, there are facts we don’t know about for this lady to develop and assert an “unsound mind” argument.
We certainly wish this lady good luck in continuing to try to cope with what has apparently been done to her. It’s just an ugly, sad set of events. She does not deserve what has been done to her.
If You Have Been Sexually Abused, Contact Crowe Arnold & Majors, LLP for Compassionate Legal Help
If you, one of your children, a loved one or a friend has been raped, molested or sexually abused by a church member, sexually assaulted at school, camp counselor, or other person in a leadership position at a church, school, or business, promptly contact the police where the incident(s) happened and report it. This cannot be stressed enough. These are serious criminal acts. You will likely be asked to get a SANE exam/rape kit performed, especially if your report is sufficiently immediate after the event. The DNA evidence obtained from these exams can make or break any criminal case against the sexual abuser.
Contact an experienced Dallas lawyer for sexual assault victims at Crowe Arnold & Majors, LLP. Our main office is in Dallas, Texas, but we handle these types of clergy sex abuse cases throughout Texas. If you are the victim of clergy sex abuse or rape, regardless of age, or know of a victim and you are trying to help, immediate legal representation is needed due to statute of limitations issues, the need to preserve evidence, and, again, to make sure law enforcement is immediately involved. Do not wait!
