ALBANY, N.Y. — For a year, a special New York law has cleared the way for a wave of headline-grabbing lawsuits against famous men accused of sexual misconduct, including former President Donald Trump, hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and the comedian and actor Russell Brand.
But when the Adult Survivors Act expires after Thanksgiving, it also will have led to a multitude of legal claims by women who say they were sexually abused while serving time in the New York’s prisons and jails.
More than 2,500 lawsuits have been filed so far under the law, which created a year-long suspension of the usual time limit to sue over an alleged sexual assault.
Some of those lawsuits have targeted employers, or institutions such as hospitals, accused of failing to do enough to stop abuse by doctors or other workers. The large majority, though, have been filed against the state, New York City and local counties and involve allegations of abuse at state prisons and local jail systems.
Survivors called it an opportunity to finally be heard.
“For so long, I didn’t have a voice. And it didn’t matter, I thought. Like, who was I?” said Alexandria Johnson, who says she was raped multiple times while incarcerated in state prison and a New York City jail. “I have to keep going forward with this because it matters. … There’s so many stories, so many, not just mine.”
After Thursday, people will once again be barred from suing over abuse that happened many years ago.
Alexandria Johnson, 35, becomes emotional during an interview, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, in Oneonta, N.Y., while recalling details of being sexually assaulted while incarcerated. Johnson filed separate lawsuits against New York City and the state corrections department under the Adult Survivors Act, alleging repeated sexual assaults while she was incarcerated at Rikers Island, as well as at the state’s Bedford Hills facility that led to the termination of her pregnancy. “I had to take a chance that there would be…
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