A ruling from the Ohio Supreme Court says that child sex abuse victims have 12 years to file lawsuits when a state employee is the alleged perpetrator.
The court's 4-3 decision says the 12-year rule for child sex abuse claims trumps a state law requiring any lawsuits against the state be filed within two years. At issue in the court's decision this past week was a woman's 2012 lawsuit alleging she was sexually abused by two Youth Services employees while in state detention as a teenager in 2000 and 2001. Justice Paul Pfeifer says state law is clear that the 12-year rule applied to all claims of child sex abuse. Justice Terrence O'Donnell, writing for the minority, said the two-year window should still apply.