NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – Former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick abused a teenage boy in the 1990s when he was leader of the Archdiocese of Newark, according to a lawsuit filed under a newly enacted New Jersey law that gives accusers more time to make legal claims.
Another lawsuit filed by two of six sisters alleges that a now-deceased priest who had previously worked for the archdiocese abused them and their siblings for nearly 10 years after he was transferred to Pennsylvania.
“This is a momentous day for our family because we can finally move forward in our search for justice,” one of the sisters, Patty Fortney-Julius, said at a news conference Monday.
A law that was passed by New Jersey in the spring and went into effect Sunday allows child sex abuse victims to sue until they turn 55, or within seven years of their first realization the abuse caused them harm. The previous limit was two years.
Victims who were previously barred from suing because they didn’t act during the allotted time period now have a two-year window to file claims.