Sexual Abuse Is Still a Problem in Indiana Schools
It is estimated that 1 out of every 10 children will experience sexual misconduct at the hands of a trusted teacher, coach, or other school official by the time they graduate high school. On average, a teacher will be transferred to three different schools before they are reported to police. In reality, these numbers likely do not accurately represent the growing scourge of educator sexual misconduct in our schools; the incident rate is likely much higher. Crimes of a sexual nature remain the most underreported of crimes. Further, empirical research in the context of school-related sexual abuse is extremely limited. There are no national surveys that collect incident data on school employee sexual misconduct and there is no comprehensive, searchable national database to manage and track reported incidents.
As a direct result of a lack of understanding, awareness, and reporting of these acts, parents hold their children’s hands and walk them into what has turned into a safe haven for sexual predators: school. The vast majority of schoolteachers are people who have our children’s best interests at heart and seek to better the children’s lives and the community as a whole. However, the unfortunate and terrifying reality is that any youth-serving organization will always be a target for sexual predators. As institutions continue to bury their heads in the sand in an effort “keep things quiet,” this epidemic continues to grow. At Cohen & Malad, LLP we receive many calls relating to educator sexual misconduct, and we currently represent several children who’ve been victimized by their trusted teachers.
Legal representation for child survivors of sexual abuse by a teacher
In one case, our client was a fourteen-year-old honor roll student who was subjected to months of harassment and inappropriate sexual innuendo at the hands of her social studies teacher before it ultimately culminated in sexual assault. Kristen,* an eighth grader, endured months of sexual jokes, racy comments, and inappropriate looks before she was attacked at a school dance by her teacher. Her teacher snuck up on Kristen from behind, forcefully grabbed her hips, and thrust his penis toward her buttocks. But the abuse did not stop there. Despite being reported to school officials, the teacher was not relieved of his duties. In fact, the teacher was able to orchestrate a time to be alone with Kristen in a classroom. While alone, the teacher sexually assaulted Kristen. Sadly, Kristen was not the first victim of this teacher. For years, parents and students alike had complained about the teacher’s inappropriate behavior. The school did nothing to protect Kristen or other kids or to prevent her assault.
In another case, our client was a shining star in her high school’s Fine Arts program. Reeling from her parent’s difficult divorce, Elaine* found a second home within her theatre class. The director of the theatre program homed in on Elaine’s vulnerability and seized this opportunity to groom Elaine and eventually start a sexual relationship with her. What began as the theatre teacher confiding things about his personal life to Elaine escalated to them making out in the school theatre and eventually to sexual intercourse both inside and outside of the school. Elaine was just seventeen years old; her abuser was forty-seven years old. Again, the high school had been on notice for a number of years about the theatre teacher’s bad behavior. Yet, nothing was done. This school, too, failed to protect its children.
These are only two instances of on-going litigation against Indiana educators accused of sexually abusing kids. Educator sexual misconduct is rife within our society. With no apparent incentive and certainly no consequences, many schools continue to have culpability in this matter as they continue to look the other way. Contact us if you or your child were sexually abused by a trusted teacher, aide, or coach.
*Names have been changed to protect confidentiality.
FBI Investigates Sexual Abuse Claims Within New Orleans Catholic Church
News of a federal investigation into sexual abuse claims within the Catholic Church in New Orleans has gained national attention. And while this type of news isn’t as surprising as it once was, the nature of this investigation and the possible legal claim is.
Reports of alleged sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Diocese of New Orleans involve priests who allegedly abused children during trips to camps and amusement parks in Mississippi, Texas and Florida. Sexual abuse claims that involve travel across state lines fall under the scope of the Mann Act, an anti-sex trafficking law. And while some of the reports about New Orleans priests involved alleged abuse that happened decades ago, there is no statute of limitations for violations of the Mann Act. This means that adults who were allegedly molested as children are able to bring a claim against these predator priests and the church under the Mann Act.
Mann Act and Justice For Sexual Abuse Survivors
The application of the Mann Act is important as the average age for disclosure of sexual abuse is 52, well after the abuse occurred. Many sexual abuse claims are barred by state laws that contain time limits on how long a victim has to file a lawsuit, aka statute of limitations. For instance, in Indiana a victim of sexual abuse generally has until the age of 25 to file a lawsuit if they were sexually abused as a minor. That means if they wait until they are 52, which is the average age of disclosure, it will be too late for them to take legal action in Indiana. Of course, there are some exceptions. It is important for anyone who has suffered sexual abuse to speak with an attorney experienced with sexual abuse lawsuits who can advise them of their legal rights and options.
It takes courage for survivors to report sexual abuse. There are a variety of factors that influence when, or even if, a survivor will disclose the abuse they suffered. Sexual abuse perpetrated by priests, religious leaders and faith community volunteers can inflict a deep sense of shame and guilt. Victims are often left to struggle with sexual abuse trauma as well as conflicts with their religious beliefs. Our sexual abuse litigation team at Cohen & Malad, LLP has represented people who suffered sexual abuse within faith communities and can help you.
Sexual Abuse Crisis in Faith Communities
The Catholic Church has certainly garnered the most attention for its history of failing victims of sexual abuse. Investigators found church leaders covered up reports of abuse for decades and allowed perpetrator priests to relocate to other diocese where they often continued to prey on children. But this problem isn’t unique to the Catholic Church. If fact, the Southern Baptist Convention was recently the subject of a investigation by Texas journalists who exposed decades of sexual abuse reports within the church that SBC leaders ignored or mishandled. After the media broke the story, SBC leaders hired Guidepost Solutions to conduct an independent investigation into reports of sexual abuse within the church. A 259-page report was published in May 2022 which included a number of findings regarding the mishandling of sexual abuse claims and allegations of mistreatment of sexual abuse victims by Executive Committee members which spanned 20 years.
Across social media the #ChurchToo movement has helped sexual abuse survivors find their voice. Our attorneys have represented survivors in civil court for over 20 years and have fought to get compensation for sexual abuse survivors so they can pay for mental health services and other resources to heal from the trauma of sexual abuse. If you have been sexually abused by a priest, pastor, faith leader or anyone within a religious community we believe you and stand ready to help you. You are not alone. Contact us now.
Sexual Assault: How the Burden of Proof in a Criminal Prosecution Can Affect a Civil Lawsuit
By: Amina A. Thomas, Attorney
The New York Times’ Monday morning headline this week was a report on How Rape Cases Get Dropped. The article examines why, even amidst increased social and cultural awareness in recent years surrounding sexual assault, prosecutors often still refuse to bring criminal prosecutions of sexual assault and frequently drop cases after they do bring charges. The report states:
“The Me Too movement led to heightened awareness of the prevalence of sexual assault, an increase in reports to police, and a new hope that people accused would be more frequently held accountable. But in New York City, statistics and the accounts of women who say they were attacked suggest that little has changed about the way the criminal justice system grapples with rape accusations.”
As mentioned in the report, a major reason rape and sexual assault cases are so often rejected by prosecutors is because of the high burden of proof that prosecutors must meet, coupled with the fact that sexual assault cases often present inherent challenges of witness credibility. Usually, there isn’t a third-party witness to these crimes, and as the report notes, in cases where “the attacker is not a stranger and alcohol is involved,” it can be extremely difficult to convince a jury of the defendant’s guilt.
The burden of proof in civil litigation, however, is lower than that in a criminal prosecution. Instead of proving his or her case “beyond a reasonable doubt,” a rape or sexual assault survivor plaintiff most only convince a jury by a “preponderance of the evidence.” In other words, the plaintiff must only be able to show that, more likely than not, the assault occurred.
While this lower evidentiary standard is, at first blush, helpful to survivor-plaintiffs, the aftermath of a criminal prosecution usually has a strong effect on the outcome of a civil lawsuit. Almost all the evidence set forth in a criminal prosecution against a perpetrator will become relevant in a civil action against that same perpetrator. When a prosecutor secures a guilty plea or conviction against a perpetrator, the survivor’s civil case is inherently much stronger.
On the other hand, if a criminal case is dropped or a jury finds a perpetrator not guilty, a survivor who wishes to pursue a civil lawsuit against his or her perpetrator will be left with an extremely onerous battle of combating the negatively skewed evidence from the criminal proceedings. Furthermore, a negative result in a criminal case is emotionally draining for a survivor, and in turn can often make survivors hesitant to move forward with civil action at all.
Cohen & Malad, LLP’s clients who are survivors of sexual assault are usually also taking part in a criminal prosecution against their perpetrators. In the unfortunate circumstance that a prosecutor believes he or she is unable to prove a rape or sexual assault charge, the decision to pursue a different or lesser charge, such as “battery,” is often still more helpful to a subsequent civil case than a prosecutor bringing no case at all or pursuing a charge on which a jury is unlikely to convict.
Prosecutors should continue to encourage survivors of sexual assault to come forward against their abusers. One way to encourage survivors is by exploring alternative courses of action that enable prosecutors to see these cases through. At the end of the day, a finding of guilt on a lesser charge such as battery, is still an acknowledgement by the perpetrator and by society that the accused act did in fact occur. It will result in at least some level of accountability for the perpetrator and creates more positive evidence for a survivor to build a civil case against their perpetrator. Most importantly, a conviction or guilty plea—even of a less serious offense— can provide recognition to the survivor that his or her courage to come forward was not for nothing.
Nursing Homes in Indiana and Across the Country are Overwhelmed by COVID-19
By: Amina A. Young, Attorney
On Friday, April 10, 2020, the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) Commissioner Kristina Box confirmed that twenty-four residents at Bethany Pointe Health Campus in Anderson, Indiana had passed away. Sixteen of the residents who died had tested positive for COVID-19. The other eight showed similar symptoms. Bethany Pointe, owned by Trilogy Health Services, LLC, is one of many nursing homes across the country facing coronavirus outbreaks.
Health care experts and officials have long stated that the elderly are likely one of the most vulnerable populations to 
the coronavirus due to compromised immune systems and/or underlying conditions.
On March 21, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidance for nursing homes and other long-term care facilities to take steps to assess and improve their preparedness for responding to COVID-19. The CDC noted nursing homes are among the highest at risk of being affected by COVID-19 because of their “congregate nature and the residents served (e.g., older adults often with underlying chronic medical conditions).” In its guidance, the CDC recommended rapid implementation of active screening of residents and health care personnel for fever and respiratory symptoms, restricting all visitation except for certain compassionate care situations, such as end of life situations, and implementing sick leave policies and other occupational health considerations.
The CDC also released a Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Preparedness Checklist for Nursing Homes and other Long-Term Care Settings, which identifies key areas that long-term care facilities should consider in their COVID-19 planning. The CDC’s checklist includes a comprehensive communication plan for facilities to ensure that they are communicating with staff, residents, and their families regarding the status and impact of COVID-19 in the facility.
On its website, Trilogy Health Services declares, in responding to the COVID-19 virus, it is “following guidance from the CDC, CMS, and state officials” and is “taking extra precautions over the coming weeks and months to ensure that [its] campuses remain guarded against the spread of viral infections.”
However, a chief complaint of Bethany Pointe residents’ families is that they aren’t being kept informed on the status of the facility’s overall impact from COVID-19, or with regard to their loved one in particular. Many families of Bethany Pointe residents state they were not even so much as notified when the first known cases were confirmed in the nursing home, and before they knew it or had a chance to respond to the situation, their loved one was showing symptoms of COVID-19.
Residents in nursing homes are members of our community and should be given the same respect and access to resources that the rest of the community has access to during a crisis. Families of nursing home residents should be kept timely informed on the overall status of the facility’s impact to COVID-19, and on their loved one’s health.
If your loved one is residing in a nursing home or long-term care facility, and you are concerned about the facility’s handling of its response to COVID-19, one action you can take is to file a complaint or report an incident to the ISDH. Complaint forms can be found on the Indiana State Department of Health’s website.
COVID-19 presents unchartered territory. This article is not legal advice. To discuss the specific facts of your situation, contact us.
Glen Mills Schools Faces Lawsuit Over Child Abuse Allegations
A class action lawsuit has been filed against Glen Mills Schools in Pennsylvania after an investigation uncovered numerous of claims of abuse at the reformatory school for boys. Allegations made by students at the school include counselors and staff inflicting physical violence on the boys like punching, kicking, slamming them into walls or lockers, slapping, and choking them. In one instance, a boy stated he was grabbed by the shirt and slammed onto a pool table for not acknowledging a staff member when the boy walked into the room. The investigation uncovered years of physical abuse at the school. Victims were often silenced with threats of more violence or relocation to a worse school. Many did not report abuse and went to lengths to ensure family members who saw injuries like cuts, bruises, and sprains did not take action.
The lawsuit alleges that in addition to the injuries from physical abuse and trauma from emotional abuse, students enrolled at Glen Mills were also deprived of their right to an education. It claims that in several instances students were provided self-directed online resources and did not receive instruction or support from teachers. Some were only provided a GED prep book rather than receive secondary education instruction.
State of Pennsylvania closes Glen Mills Schools amid reports of abuse
In April 2019, the State Department of Human Services in Pennsylvania revoked Glen Mills’ license after further investigation into child abuse and cover-ups at the Delaware County facility.
If you or someone you know has a child who attended Glen Mills Schools in Pennsylvania, contact us. Our personal injury attorneys have handled numerous child abuse claims including claims of physical violence and sexual assault and can provide you with a confidential case evaluation at no cost.
Filing Deadlines Vary for Boy Scout Sexual Abuse Claims
**UPDATE NOVEMBER 2020**
The deadline for filing claims against the BSA expired on November 16,2020 @ 5:00 EST.
Cohen & Malad, LLP is no longer accepting these cases.
While we do not anticipate this deadline to change, we would encourage you to periodically check the following website to see if anything has changed www.OfficialBSAClaims.com
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For survivors of childhood sexual abuse, it may take decades to begin processing what has happened to them. The unique struggles and obstacles faced by survivors of childhood sexual abuse can have a negative effect on their ability to pursue a civil lawsuit. This is because the survivor may not recall what occurred or connect their abuse to the harms they have suffered until much later. By the time the survivor makes that connection, the time frame for them to file a civil lawsuit may have lapsed. The legal term for the deadline to file a lawsuit is the “statute of limitation.” Statutes of limitation are laws passed by state legislatures that place time limits on how long a person has to file a lawsuit in court.
Concerns about whether a statute of limitation has expired frequently come into play in childhood sexual abuse cases. As an example, many survivors of childhood sexual abuse by a volunteer of the Boy Scouts of America organization have come forward. The Boy Scouts organization currently faces hundreds of accusers in multiple lawsuits across the country. The survivors filing lawsuits are from all walks of life and the age range for these survivors varies greatly. Older survivors will have to show that their case fits within their state’s statute of limitations in order to be successful in pursuing their claim.
Some states are changing the statute of limitations to offer more access to justice for sexual abuse survivors
States across the nation are beginning to recognize this obstacle to justice and are taking a closer look at, and changing, their statutes of limitations for childhood sexual abuse cases. Delaware and New York have repealed requirements altogether, meaning that survivors of any age can seek damages in a civil lawsuit. Other states are considering legislation that would either eliminate limitations or expand them to allow more survivors to come forward. This process is referred to as statute of limitations reform.
Under current Indiana law, survivors of childhood sexual abuse have a limited amount of time to file a civil case against their abuser. The Indiana General Assembly is currently studying how statutes of limitations for civil lawsuits uniquely affect survivors of childhood sexual abuse. If the proposed changes to the statute of limitations law are adopted it would open a window of time to allow Indiana survivors of sexual abuse, whose statutes are currently expired, the opportunity to file a claim. Expanding the statute of limitations would allow more survivors to receive compensation for costs associated with treatment and rebuilding their lives. It would also hold perpetrators and organizations who enabled the abuse accountable for their actions and protect future victims.
States expanding or abandoning limitations on civil lawsuits have led the Boy Scouts of America to consider filing bankruptcy due to the large number of pending and potential claims against them. While the Boy Scouts have not officially filed for bankruptcy, they are exploring that option. Other organizations whose policies and actions allowed sexual abuse to occur, like USA Gymnastics, have used bankruptcy as a strategy to limit their losses and protect their assets.
VIDEO: Greg Laker explains statutes of limitation
Talk to an attorney for free to find out if you have a case
Statutes of limitations are always a concern in these types of cases, and the looming possibility of bankruptcy proceedings makes it even more necessary to talk with an attorney as soon as possible to protect your rights and interests. If you or a loved one is the victim of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of a Boy Scout troop leader or volunteer, our sexual abuse attorneys will stand with you throughout the civil litigation process. Please contact us for a free and private consultation on your case today.
Thousands of Boy Scout Members Allege Sexual Abuse
**UPDATE NOVEMBER 2020**
The deadline for filing claims against the BSA expired on November 16,2020 @ 5:00 EST.
Cohen & Malad, LLP is no longer accepting these cases.
While we do not anticipate this deadline to change, we would encourage you to periodically check the following website to see if anything has changed www.OfficialBSAClaims.com
Sexual abuse allegations from former scouts across the country are piling up against the Boy Scouts of America. The Boy Scouts organization, which provides programming for millions of children across the country, is embroiled in multiple lawsuits regarding their policies on background checks. The civil lawsuits 
allege the policies allowed more than 7,000 perpetrators of sexual abuse to volunteer. By volunteering, perpetrators had unfettered access to kids as young as five years old. The allegations span many decades and, if founded, are evidence of pervasive and nationwide abuse.
In October 2012, an Oregon court ordered the Boy Scouts to release internal files that were kept to track suspected and convicted child molesters that volunteered for the organization. These files, referred to by the organization as “the red files” or the “ineligible volunteer list,” were nearly 20,000 pages meant for use by the organization to prevent pedophiles from volunteering.
But that list was rarely checked in the hiring process, according to the allegations in recent complaints. The fallout from the release of the red files has been tremendous—current estimates of the number of victims surpass 12,000 boy scouts who were molested and/or sexually abused by troop leaders or other volunteers from 1944 to 2016.
The release of the red files exposed men from every walk of life and every corner of the country, including Indiana. Indiana cases demonstrate the complacency of the Boy Scouts of America in using the red files for their intended purpose—preventing dangerous people from using the organization to gain access to harm children. Thomas Hacker was a troop leader and volunteer for the Boy Scouts in Indiana in the 1970’s before he was convicted of felony child sexual abuse in 1973. Following his conviction, Hacker moved to the Chicago suburbs where he was allowed to re-join as a volunteer with the Boy Scouts, resulting in his molestation and abuse of more children. Fifteen of those Chicago scouts filed suit against the Boy Scouts in 2018.
Yet another Indiana case involved an unnamed troop leader who was added to the red files in 1972 after admitting to molesting young scouts. But officials at the Boy Scouts organization wrote next to his name that he had been “cured” through psychiatric treatments and meetings with his minister, and was subsequently allowed to register as a troop leader once again. Ten years later, the same troop leader was allowed to host a sleepover, after which two boys accused him of molesting them. The troop leader eventually admitted to molesting the boys and resigned from scouting, but there is no indication on whether local law enforcement was ever notified.
If you are a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and exploitation at the hands of Boy Scout leaders and volunteers, you are not alone. Our attorneys have decades of experience fighting for survivors of sexual abuse in the civil justice system. Our sexual abuse attorneys have received professional training to deal with the unique circumstances that survivors of sexual abuse and trauma face. If you or a loved one has been sexually abused, please contact us for a free and confidential case evaluation.
Los Angeles Jury Awards $45 Million to Sexual Abuse Survivor After Years of Abuse
On Thursday July 26, 2018, a Los Angeles jury awarded $45 million to a girl who endured sexual abuse at the hands of her mother and four men at a home where she was placed by the county despite evidence she was being molested. The girl, now 15, said in a lawsuit against Los Angeles County that social workers had reasonable suspicions she was being abused, but they failed to inform authorities. The girl’s mother and the men were previously convicted of abusing the girl starting in 2010.
Unfortunately, cases like this are not isolated events. However, victims of sexual abuse do have ways to hold a perpetrator accountable. Similar to the brave young woman in the Los Angeles case, a victim of sexual abuse can initiate a civil lawsuit. While a criminal case is designed to hold a defendant accountable to the State, a civil lawsuit is designed to hold the defendant accountable to the victim. In a civil case, the victim initiates and controls the case and brings the action regardless if the perpetrator has been found guilty in a criminal prosecution.
National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week Raises Awareness of Environmental Hazards
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has identified the week of October 23 – October 29 to be National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week in an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of lead poisoning. Materials are available to educators and the public to help spread the word about the hazardous effects that lead exposure can have in children of all ages — particularly children under six years of age. [The EPA has since removed these resources from their official website.]
A Contrast In Private Rights Of Action In Indiana
By: David J. Cutshaw, Attorney
The Indiana Court of Appeals recently issued a decision in the case of Sprunger v. Egli, 44 N.E. 3d 690 (Ind. App. 2105), a medical malpractice case where the plaintiff alleged that her 13-month old daughter died of child abuse that should have been reported by the child’s pediatrician. The plaintiff in the case alleged that Dr. Egli had a duty to report suspected abuse as required by an Indiana statute, I.C. 31-33-5-1, but his failure to do so was the cause of the child’s death from abuse.