In this op-ed, Clarissa Brooks explores how a statute of limitations can benefit the rich and powerful, something illustrated through the Adult Survivors Act.
Cassie Ventura had been out of high school for a year when she met Diddy (a.k.a Sean Combs) in 2005, according to a now-settled lawsuit she filed against him on November 16. The Bad Boy Records mogul, who at the time was 37, took an interest in 19-year-old Ventura, according to the lawsuit, signing her to his label. What followed for Ventura, the suit alleges, was years of unrelenting abuse at the hands of her boss and boyfriend Combs. Ventura’s lawsuit was one in a flurry of cases against powerful men and institutions filed just before the New York Adult Survivor’s Act expired, legislation that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations on filing a civil case against someone for sexual abuse.
Ventura’s lawsuit alleges 13 years of sexual violence and harm by Combs, claiming he forced her into sex trafficking while under the influence of drugs. Her allegations against him include rape, battery, gender discrimination, and creating a hostile environment. Combs has vehemently denied these allegations, along with similar allegations in three other lawsuits recently filed against him. Most recently, he was accused of gang raping a 17-year-old girl in 2003. On December 6, Combs posted a statement on social media saying he “did not do any of the awful things alleged.” Ventura’s suit was settled out of court the day after it was filed; Combs’s attorney clarified a settlement is not an admission of guilt. The 35-page suit alleges abuse that Ventura says almost ended her life.
For Ventura, the Adult Survivors Act offered a chance to file a case against her alleged abuser that the rigid nature of a statute of limitations wouldn't have allowed. For many, a statute of limitations may effectively absolve their perpetrators of wrongdoing, simply because a time limit expired.
The Adult Survivors Act took effect in November 2022, offering a one year window for people seeking civil remedies for sexual offenses that occurred after the age of 18. The act allowed survivors to seek a civil case against perpetrators and institutions that allegedly enabled abuse beyond the statute of limitations, meaning survivors could sue for abuse they experienced decades ago. In 2019, New York extended its statute of limitations from three years to 20 years for certain sex crimes, but that only impacted new cases and didn’t apply retroactively. The Adult Survivors Act was similar to the state’s Child Victims Act of 2019, which allowed more than 10,000 people to file claims against their alleged abusers, according to the New York Times.
As the expiration deadline approached this November, an onslaught of high profile cases were filed against politicians and music industry moguls alike. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and celebrities like Jamie Foxx, Steven Tyler, Russell Brand, Axl Rose, Bill Cosby, and more were all accused of misconduct. Cuomo, Adams, Foxx, and Rose have all denied the allegations against them. Tyler has not responded to the suit, according to the Associated Press, nor has Brand (though he has in the past said his relationships have all been consensual) or Cosby. According to the New York Times, more than 3,000 cases were filed under the Adult Survivors Act before it expired, with a big portion being prison-related cases, many naming New York City’s Department of Corrections.
This rush of cases speaks to exactly why the statute of limitations enables abuse: it ignores that survivors face many barriers to legally accusing their abusers, and doesn’t prioritize survivors’ needs.
For many survivors of sexual abuse, the options for justice through the legal system pale in comparison to the lifetime of work towards healing that they’re forced to take on. And, most survivors never pursue their abusers in court, in part because the system is largely set up to benefit the perpetrators, not the victims. When survivors are successful in court, measures like monetary settlements or prison sentences still can’t necessarily guarantee the end of harmful behaviors by perpetrators of abuse. Still, this legal process can be restorative in the way that it offers survivors validation.
For those who do want to seek damages against their abuser, there are very real barriers to accessing legal recourse after sexual assault, including money for lawyers, lack of knowledge about the legal system, time to cope with trauma, and disbelief by law enforcement. When temporarily lifted, survivors who may not have been able to come forward in the immediate aftermath of their assault were able to seek justice through the legal system.
But for those who are accusing powerful people or institutions of assault or misconduct, the financial barrier can be even steeper. The many cases against famous men and large institutions under the Adult Survivors Act underscore how the legal process is set up to benefit the accused, particularly when the accused have enough money to outlawyer their accuser. And in the case of many famous people, accusing them of crimes publicly also includes significant public backlash. For some survivors, surviving the court of public opinion — in which fans will go to many lengths to defend a celebrity they love — can be a barrier itself. In the case of celebrity survivors, some observers may be under the illusion that beauty, class, or access can protect against sexual violence. For some survivors, cases going public can be critical for visibility to reckon with the never ending pain of patriarchal violence, but they also play into the spectacle of survivorship — that survivors have to prostrate their pain to the public in order to receive the care and healing they deserve.
And these are just a few reasons why a survivor might not come forward immediately. There is a matrix of systems at play that impact survivors of sexual violence into not feeling safe enough to report their assault, or to simply trust the legal system with their case.
The Adult Survivors Act has expired now, but while it was active, the flood of lawsuits filed under it may point to why our legal system needs to better consider the needs of survivors, allowing them enough time to process their pain, to harness the resources they need, and to figure out what justice really looks like for them. Some survivors may never come forward, and some may decide justice isn’t found in court. But for those who desire legal pathways, the legal system must recognize that healing isn’t linear, and it certainly won’t ascribe to someone else’s time limit.
