Child Sexual Abuse

My work on behalf of sexual abuse victims grew out of my early work representing children. I had my first clients in 1982, as an Assistant Public Defender, representing children who were alleged to be wayward or delinquent in the Family Court. I found that many of my clients were victims of abuse, and that the most difficult cases were not murders or B&E's, but the cases in which the child I represented was himself or herself a victim of abuse. These children often had profound treatment needs, and were uncooperative with what little treatment was available. Frequently, they were in a downward spiral of acting out, which the system responded to with increasingly putative measures, and narrowing treatment options.

What was truly disturbing was that children were sometimes abused in the system. Group homes and residential facilities, often short-staffed and under budgetary pressure, occasionally failed to provide appropriate supervision. Although these breakdowns may have been statistically rare, they wrought horrific damage on already damaged children.

When representing victims of abuse, I would accomplish little simply defending them on their latest in what could be a never-ending series of disruptive offenses - breaking into their parent's home to steal a clock radio was typical. The conduct was criminal, but the crime was not the problem. Instead, I found much more was accomplished by focusing on "the best interests of the child" and getting treatment that would help. The Family Court was there for just that purpose.

In cases where a client was abused in care, that meant going after the care provider.

When I entered private practice in 1987, a partner asked me to handle representation of 3 students that were sexually abused by a teacher. Since that time, I have handled civil sexual abuse cases in a variety of contexts, including residential care facilities, treatment providers, child care officials, and more recently clergy abuse.

The office has represented adult victims of sexual abuse by a professional - for example a doctor. We have represented offenders only in narrow circumstances - for instance, one offender was seeking to use a portion of inherited funds to establish a trust for his victim.

We are presently engaged in negotiations regarding settlement of several dozen clergy abuse cases in this state.

If you wish to inquire about the availability of services, you may contact us by phone or electronically here.