Child Sexual Abuse Accountability Act

The bill creates a statutory cause of action for a victim of sexual misconduct when the victim was a minor against the actor who committed the sexual misconduct and against an organization that operates or manages a youth program if the sexual misconduct occurred while the victim was participating in a youth program.

The victim may bring the claim against the organization if the organization knew or should have known of a risk of sexual misconduct against minors participating in the program and the organization did not take action to address the risks or warn participants of the risk. The victim may bring a claim against a public employee or public entity that operates a youth program, including an educational entity operating an educational program or a district preschool program.

The cause of action applies retroactively and is available to a victim of sexual misconduct that occurred before, on, or after January 1, 2022. A person may not waive the right to bring a civil action, and any purported waiver is void as against public policy.

A court or jury shall not allocate any damages awarded in the civil action in any proportion against the victim of the sexual misconduct. A victim may be awarded treble damages under certain circumstances.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)