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N.J. Stat. Ann.
§ 2A:61B-1
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Summary of Current Law:
New Jersey's Child Sexual Abuse Act (CSAA), enacted in 1992, §2A:61B-1(b), provides that actions can be commenced within two years of the date of the "reasonable discovery" of the "injury and its causal relationship to the act of sexual abuse." See, e.g. See, e.g. J.L. v J.F., 722 A.2d 558, 317 N.J. Super. 418 (1999), a case that did not involve repressed memory. The Appellate Division of the Superior Court stressed that the under the statute, reasonable discovery occurred when the victim discovered the abuse and the connection to her injuries. The Court also ruled that the victim was entitled to a plenary hearing on the issue of whether she was entitled to toll the statute of limitations based upon her mental incapacity under § 2A:61B-1(c). See also Jones v. Jones, 242 N.J. Super. 195, 576 A.2d 316; cert. denied 122 N.J. 418, 585 A.2d 412 (1990) (applying disability tolling provision to repressed memory due to child sexual abuse).
In 2006 by the state legislature amended the New Jersey Charitable Immunity Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-7 et seq. removing the shield of immunity for employees and officers of charitable institutions in cases of "willful, wanton or grossly negligent act of commission or omission, including sexual assault and other crimes of a sexual nature." This means that victims can recover against institutions for negligent hiring and supervision of employees.
In 2006 the New Jersey Supreme Court held that a residential school stood in "loco parentis" to its students and thus was responsible for the sexual abuse inflicted by a faculty member. The court stated that New Jersey's Child Sexual Abuse Act (CSAA) recognized the vulnerability of children and demonstrated a legislative intent to protect them from victimization, and CSAA imposed responsibility on those in the best position to know of the abuse and stop it. Hardwicke v. American Boychoir School, 188 N.J. 69, (2006).
Link to New Jersey Statutes
Link to Article: Child sexual abuse: A plaintiff's perspective
By Lawrence Z. Kotler and Scott A. Heiart (discusses Child Sexual Abuse Act, Charitable immunity and significant cases)
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