California Childhood Sexual Assault Lawsuits: New Rights & Filing Deadlines

Publication Date July 13, 2026 in Legal Advocacy

Breaking the Silence Before the Window Closes

I am Michael Hackard, founder of Hackard Law. Over nearly five decades of practice, I have stood beside families and individuals facing some of the most painful legal battles imaginable – from inheritance disputes to elder financial abuse. I have written four books on protecting the rights of heirs, beneficiaries, and elder abuse victims, and I have produced more than 1,000 educational videos that have reached over seven million viewers. Our firm serves clients across Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Los Angeles, and throughout California.

Today I want to speak directly to a group of people who have carried a burden far too long: survivors of childhood sexual assault. For years, attorneys like me had to deliver heartbreaking news – that the law’s time limits had closed the door on their claims. That has changed. California has enacted landmark reforms that give survivors a real chance at justice, but that chance has a deadline.

Hackard Law provides contingency fee representation for qualified cases – you pay nothing upfront, and nothing at all unless we win or settle your case. If you or someone you love needs to understand these new rights, call us now at (916) 313-3030.

Quick Summary

California has dramatically expanded the rights of childhood sexual assault survivors to file civil claims, including a time-limited lookback window for previously barred cases.

The new age limit for filing a childhood sexual assault civil claim in California is 40 years old.
A three-year lookback window allows survivors whose claims were previously time-barred to file – even if they are over 40.
This lookback window closes at the end of 2022, making immediate action critical.
Contingency fee representation means survivors can pursue justice without paying legal fees upfront.
Hackard Law listens, evaluates, and fights for survivors across California.

Why the Old Law Failed Survivors

For decades, California’s statutes of limitations on childhood sexual assault claims were deeply inadequate. Survivors who came forward after a certain age were told, in effect, that the law could no longer help them. Trauma, shame, fear, and the psychological complexity of abuse meant that many victims did not – and could not – come forward within the old time limits. The law, as written, protected institutions and perpetrators more than it protected the people they harmed.

I have seen what that silence costs. Survivors who carried their pain for thirty or forty years, only to be told by an attorney that their window had closed. That outcome was unjust, and California’s legislature recognized it.

What the New California Law Actually Says

California’s reformed law makes two critical changes for survivors of childhood sexual assault.

First, the standard filing deadline has been extended. Survivors may now file a civil claim until age 40, or within five years of discovering that a psychological injury or illness was caused by the childhood sexual assault – whichever is later. This discovery rule is important: many survivors do not connect their adult struggles to the abuse they suffered as children until they are well into adulthood.

Second – and this is the provision that matters most right now – the law created a three-year lookback window. This window opened in 2020 and closes at the end of 2022. During this period, survivors whose claims were previously time-barred can file a new civil lawsuit, regardless of when the abuse occurred and regardless of their current age. This is an extraordinary and rare opportunity in the law.

Case Pattern: A survivor in their late fifties had never pursued legal action because they were told years ago that the statute of limitations had passed. Under the lookback window, they were able to bring a civil claim against the institution responsible for their abuser’s access to children. The case moved forward and resulted in a confidential resolution that brought the survivor a measure of closure.

Who Can File Under the Lookback Window

The lookback window applies broadly. If you experienced childhood sexual assault in California and your prior claim was time-barred – or if you never filed because you believed it was too late – you may now have a viable civil claim. The critical question is whether you can file before the window closes at the end of 2022.

Civil claims for childhood sexual assault can be brought against individual perpetrators and, in many cases, against institutions – schools, churches, youth organizations, employers – that knew or should have known about the abuse and failed to act. Institutional liability is often where the most significant accountability and recovery can be achieved.

For survivors who are uncertain whether they qualify, the most important step is to speak with an attorney now. Time is genuinely running out. Understanding contingency fee representation can help survivors see that pursuing a claim does not require financial resources they may not have.

Case Pattern: A survivor who had been abused at a youth program decades earlier assumed no one could be held accountable because the individual perpetrator had died. An attorney identified that the organization itself had suppressed complaints and enabled the abuse. A civil claim against the institution was filed within the lookback window.

Why Acting Now Is Not Optional

I want to be direct: the lookback window is not a permanent feature of California law. It is a narrow, time-limited opening. When it closes at the end of 2022, survivors who have not filed will lose this opportunity – potentially forever.

For survivors, coming forward is not easy. The decision to revisit childhood trauma, to speak to an attorney, to consider a lawsuit – all of it requires courage. I have profound respect for that. But I also know that silence has a cost. The financial toll grows over time as survivors bear the weight of trauma-related treatment, lost opportunities, and lasting harm. The fracture that abuse causes often runs too deep for any judgment to fully mend – but civil accountability can still matter. It can mean resources for ongoing care, a public record of what happened, and a measure of justice that silence can never provide.

Discovery, legal preparation, and the pursuit of accountability are not just legal strategies – they are a means of restoring dignity to people whom institutions and perpetrators tried to silence. For decades, I have stood with families and individuals in their most difficult moments. This is one of those moments, and the law has finally opened a door.

Key Definitions

Statute of limitations: The legal deadline by which a lawsuit must be filed; missing this deadline typically bars the claim permanently.
Lookback window: A legislatively created period during which previously time-barred claims can be revived and filed as new lawsuits.
Civil claim: A lawsuit brought by a private individual seeking monetary damages, separate from any criminal prosecution.
Discovery rule: A legal principle that starts the filing clock not from the date of the harm, but from the date the victim discovered – or reasonably should have discovered – that the harm was caused by the wrongful act.
Institutional liability: Legal responsibility held by an organization (school, church, employer) for enabling or failing to prevent abuse by someone in their employ or under their supervision.
Contingency fee: A fee arrangement in which the attorney is paid only if the case is won or settled; the client pays nothing upfront.
Perpetrator: The individual who committed the sexual assault.
Age 40 rule: California’s current standard deadline allowing childhood sexual assault survivors to file civil claims until age 40 (subject to the discovery rule).
Confidential settlement: A resolution of a civil claim in which the terms, including any payment, are kept private by agreement of the parties.

What to Do Next

Look for any records, journals, or documents that may help establish the timeline of events and the identity of the perpetrator or institution.
Get copies of any prior communications with attorneys or institutions about the abuse, even if you were previously told your claim was time-barred.
Try to avoid waiting – the lookback window closes at the end of 2022, and preparation takes time.
Look for a California attorney who handles civil childhood sexual assault claims on a contingency fee basis, so cost is not a barrier.
Consider speaking confidentially with an attorney even if you are unsure whether you have a viable claim – an evaluation costs you nothing.
Reach out to a trusted support person before or after your legal consultation, as revisiting this history can be emotionally difficult.
Review how contingency fee representation works so you understand your rights before your first call.
Call Hackard Law at (916) 313-3030 to speak with our team about your situation in confidence.
Visit our contact page to reach us online and request a free consultation.