Connecticut Considers More Time for Abuse Victims to Sue

Connecticut lawmakers are considering a bill extending the time given to alleged victims of childhood sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits.

Connecticut law currently lets people sue for alleged abuse for 30 years after their 18th birthdays.

The new proposal adds a provision letting them sue within three years after new evidence is discovered that might corroborate their claims. California, Florida and several other states have similar provisions.

It comes after more than 100 movie reels and 50,000 slides of child pornography were found in 2007 hidden in a wall of a West Hartford home. The previous occupant, the late Dr. George Reardon, had been accused of sexually abusing children over five decades.

Several alleged victims already were 48 or older in 2007 and cannot sue his former employer, St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, unless the law is changed.