In January 2019, the New York State Legislature passed the Child’s Victim Act (CVA), which allows child victims to seek legal action against their abusers until they reach the age of 55 for civil cases, and the age of 28 for criminal cases. The CVA allows survivors of child sexual abuse to file a civil claim between August 14, 2019, and August 14, 2020. This one-year window allows survivors who previously would not have been able to file a claim to sue for damages regardless of when the incident occurred.
The CVA has helped hundreds of victims of child sexual abuse file lawsuits in New York. One of these survivors, Andres Alexander Ramos, who is 36, has filed a lawsuit against Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch and the people affiliated with it on Friday, September 20, 2019. In his lawsuit, he states he was sexually abused while in custody of the facility in 1995. Ramos lived at the ranch for six months from January to June, and he was the youngest in the group of boys at the time.
Ramos was 12 years old when he was brutally raped by a 16-year-old resident. Ramos had to be hospitalized after the incident for “massive internal injuries and extensive bleeding.” His attacker was criminally charged. Ramos claims that he was also frequently sexually abused by other teenage boys at the facility.
The complaint filed by Ramos accuses the ranch’s staff members of a “victim-blaming cover-up,” as they disposed of physical evidence of the rape and justified the abuse Ramos faced. In addition, founders of the ranch Jerrell and Fern Hill said, “he had asked for the sexual assault,” and that it was “a justified punishment from God for which he had to accept some responsibility.” Staff members and Jerrell and Fern Hill violated child abuse reporting laws and failed to prevent further emotional and physical injury to Ramos, according to the complaint.
If you or a loved one were a victim of sexual abuse and/or assault, you may have a potential legal claim and could be entitled to monetary compensation. Reach out to one of our compassionate attorneys today to have your questions answered.
Goldstein and Bashner
