Assembly Bill 218 – Childhood Sexual Assault: Statute of Limitations

As of October 13, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 218 (AB-218) into law. AB-218 amended sections 340.1 and 1002 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and Section 905 of the Government Code, relating to childhood sexual assault and its current statute of limitations. Under previous law, an action for “recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual abuse, as defined, be commenced within 8 years of the date the plaintiff attains the age of majority or within three years of the date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered that the psychological injury or illness occurring… was caused by sexual abuse, whichever occurs later” (AB-218 Legislative Counsel’s Digest).

Okay, that was a lot of legal jargon. To clear it up a little, up until AB-218, childhood sexual assault plaintiffs had to make their claim within eight years of turning 18, or within 3 years of the date they discovered psychological damage caused by sexual abuse. AB-218 aims to change the statute of limitations for childhood sexual assault from eight years to 22 years after the age of majority (18-years-old in the United States). To quote the bill itself:

“This bill would change that reference from childhood sexual abuse to childhood sexual assault, as defined, and it would remove the requirement that the conduct occurred on or after that specified date. The bill would also make a conforming change to the provision governing confidentiality provisions in childhood sexual abuse claims.” (AB-218, Legislative Counsel’s Digest)