Pasco, WA asked in Personal Injury for Washington

Q: I’m almost 62 and am interested in suing my childhood sexual abuser. Is it possible?

At age 8 our next door neighbor sexually assaulted me in front of his sister. Is it possible to still hold him accountable? I think by his personality type he would want to settle out of court monetarily in order to keep it all hush hush. I would need contingency based. I am realizing this is likely why I’ve entered abusive relationships, one where I was sexually assaulted again.

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2 Lawyer Answers
Steve Dashiak
Steve Dashiak
Answered
  • Tukwila, WA
  • Licensed in Washington

A: It is possible, but there might be some practical limitations in play here. It completely depends on the circumstances and the extent of the abuse. An abuse case doesn't have these limits if there was some sort of agency (school, church, DSHS) that knew or should have known about ongoing abuse and did nothing to stop it. The limits of a case with a one-time assault could very well depend on the financial status of the abuser, and their willingness to do the right thing.

1 user found this answer helpful

Tim Akpinar
Tim Akpinar
Answered
  • Little Neck, NY

A: I'm sorry for your childhood trauma. To answer your question, it's possible, but the lapse of time and the fact that only an individual person is behind the abuse could make some law firms reluctant to handle such a case. You could reach out to attorneys to try to arrange a free initial consult - that's the best way to answer your question. Good luck

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