California Child Sexual Abuse Attorney

Child Sex Abuse Lawyer

Craig Charles Law is a California sex abuse and sex assault law firm focused on obtaining justice for victims who were abused during childhood. As a leading California sex abuse law firm, our attorneys have vast experience helping sex abuse victims to recover from past sexual trauma. Our goal is to help all California sex abuse victims regain their power and achieve a sense of closure from past sex abuse.

How We Help Victims

Our firm takes great pride in fighting for our clients, and we have a proven track record battling against large corporations, churches and organizations who allowed the sex abuse to occur. We are honored when a victim places their trust in us, and we do everything necessary to get big results for each client.

Our firm spends vast resources making sure each sex abuse victim receives top notch representation. This includes employing a team of mental health professionals, private investigators and expert witnesses. We are not a big mill firm. Instead, we take a limited number of cases and provide each client with one-on-one representation, ensuring that every victim of child sex abuse receives the attention they deserve.

We also consider each client to be a member of our family. Our office understands that sexual abuse is the most devastating act known to humankind. Our goal is to not only win for our clients, but to also help each victim heal from years of unresolved pain and psychological trauma.

If you or a loved one is the victim of sex abuse, give our office a call today at 424-343-0660 to speak directly with an experienced sex abuse attorney. Each call is free and highly confidential. Or if you prefer, submit a confidential online inquiry, and a sex abuse attorney will personally respond within 12 hours.

What Each Victim Must Know

If you suffered sexual abuse as a minor, it is important to understand these three truths:

  1. IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT
  2. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
  3. YOU ARE ENTITLED TO JUSTICE

Craig Charles Law realizes sex abuse victims often try to bury the sex abuse for years, hoping it will go away. Our experience has shown that burying the issue does not help. Real emotional growth comes in dealing with the injustice head on. This includes intense psychological help from a mental health professional. Immense healing also comes in the form of standing up to the abuser. The child sex abuse attorneys at Craig Charles Law take great pride in helping California sex abuse victims through this process and we find that real change occurs when a sex abuse victim feels vindicated after carrying guilt and shame on their back for years.

Child Sex Abuse Statistics

Research conducted by the YWCA demonstrates the staggering problem of underage sex abuse:

  • Child Protective Service across the United States receive an average of one call every 9 minutes with reports of sexual abuse.
  • About 93 percent of children who are victims of sexual abuse know their abuser.
  • Less than 10 percent of sexually abused children are abused by a stranger.
  • Children are at heightened risk for sexual violence. Nearly 70 percent of all reported sexual assaults occur to children ages 17 and under.
  • One in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18 years old.
  • 12.3 percent of women were age 10 or younger at the time of their first rape/victimization, and 30 percent of women were between the ages of 11 and 17
  • More than one-third of women who report being raped before age 18 also experience rape as an adult.
  • Survivors of child sexual abuse are also more likely to experience rape and intimate partner violence in adulthood.
  • 96 percent of people who sexually abuse children are male, 76 percent are married men, and 76.8 percent of people who sexually abuse children are adults.
  • In primary care settings, physical or sexual abuse in childhood is reported by approximately 20 to 50 percent of adults.
  • Among patients with depression, irritable bowel, chronic pain, or substance abuse, prevalence of reported childhood physical or sexual abuse runs as high as 70 percent.

Predators Are Often Very Calculated in Their Approach

Abusers tend to utilize a manipulative process called “grooming” in order to gain the family’s and victim’s trust, providing them with more access to the child. Grooming behaviors may include:

  • Special attention
  • Outings, and gifts
  • Isolating the child from others
  • Filling the child’s unmet needs
  • Filling needs and roles within the family
  • Treating the child as if he or she is older
  • Gradually crossing physical boundaries, and becoming increasingly intimate/sexual
  • Use of secrecy, blame, and threats to maintain control

The Impact of Abuse

The effects of child sexual abuse can be long-lasting and severely affect the victim's mental health. Often, sexual abuse and sexual assault leads to a lifetime of depression, guilt, anxiety, the inability to form lasting adult relationships, the inability to gain lasting employment and sexual dysfunction.

Sex abuse victims are more likely than non-victims to experience the following mental health challenges:

  • About 4 times more likely to develop symptoms of drug abuse
  • About 4 times more likely to experience PTSD as adults
  • About 3 times more likely to experience a major depressive episode as adults

Who Can Be Held Responsible for Underage Sex Abuse in California

In addition to the abuser, if you suffered underage sexual abuse in California while under the care or supervision of any of the following, the organization may also be responsible for failing to protect you from harm.

Our child sex abuse attorneys are passionate about their work and take great pride in helping victims of sex abuse in California. If you or a loved one has been the victim of California child sex abuse or California child sex assault, give our office a call today for a free, highly confidential consultation to discuss your rights under the California laws governing child sex abuse: 424-343-0660.

How Long Do I Have to File a Child Sex Abuse Lawsuit in California?

Many victims of child sex abuse in California ask the question: How long do I have to file a sex abuse claim in California? Fortunately, California sex abuse law recognizes that underage sex abuse victims often take years to come forward. As such, the California sex abuse statute of limitations has been extended in underage sex abuse claims. Underage sex abuse victims in California now have until their 40th birthday to file a civil claim against their abusers. Additionally, if the California sex abuse is discovered through therapy after the age of 40, a victim has 5 additional years to bring a claim if a therapist provides a certificate stating why the sex abuse could not have been discovered earlier.

However, it is important for victims of underage sex abuse and sex assault in California to contact a sex abuse lawyer as soon as possible to protect their claim and start the process to achieving justice and closure.

Are California Child Sex Abuse Victims Entitled to Money?

The short answer is yes, if you are the victim of underage sex abuse in California, you are entitled to compensation. Although most sex abuse victims are more interested in obtaining justice and closure for their sex abuse trauma, money damages are available. The amount and type of compensation depends upon the facts and evidence in each sex abuse case. Experienced California sex abuse attorneys at Craig Charles Law will be able to evaluate your sex abuse claim and explain the potential compensation that is available under California sex abuse laws. Compensation for sex abuse in California ordinarily includes the following:

  1. Compensation for emotional distress.
  2. Compensation for past medical or mental health care.
  3. Compensation for future medical or mental health care.
  4. Punitive damages.

Our goal at Craig Charles Law is to not only obtain compensation for victims of California child sex abuse but to also effect lasting change.

Our experience has shown that when large organizations in California are forced to compensate sex abuse victims with money, this often leads to monumental changes withing the organization and prevents future harm to underage children.

Often, victims of sex abuse gain a large sense of self-empowerment when they see that their bravery in standing up to perpetrators has a genuine and lasting impact on the lives of so many other children.

What Is a “Cover Up” of California Underage Sex Abuse?

California public policy dictates that organizations entrusted with the care of children have the utmost duty to not only protect kids from sex abuse, but to also remedy sex abuse whenever it occurs.

When California entities such as athletic organizations, Boy Scouts, churches, colleges, doctors, and school districts are aware of underage sex abuse in California, they are required to take several steps to protect the sex abuse victim. These steps may include:

  • Conduct a full investigation of the sex abuse
  • Contact California law enforcement immediately
  • Remove the perpetrator immediately
  • Obtain counseling for the sex abuse victim
  • Alert parents their child has been sexually abused
  • Alert other parents their child may have been exposed to abuse

If these necessary steps are not taken to protect the sex abuse victim, or if the organization does not properly bring the sex abuse issue to light, the California entity may be held liable for a cover-up.

California allows for treble damages when it can be proven the California entity engaged in covering up the sex abuse. This amount of money is in addition to the amount of normal compensation available to a victim of California underage sex abuse.

Will My Lawsuit Be Public in California?

Not all California sex abuse claims require the filing of a lawsuit. Many cases settle prior to litigation. But if a lawsuit becomes necessary, sex abuse victims often worry that the lawsuit will become part of the public record. Most victims prefer to keep this matter private so as to not undergo added stress.

Filing a lawsuit in California ordinarily means that the person suing must be listed in the lawsuit. For instance, when a person sues a grocery store in slip and fall due to dangerous conditions, this becomes a matter of public record.

However, California law recognizes that underage sex abuse claims are highly sensitive in nature. For this reason, the victim of a California underage sex abuse lawsuit is allowed to file anonymously under the name of either “John Doe” or “Jane Doe” to protect their privacy rights. When this occurs, the public is prevented from knowing that you filed a lawsuit.

Do I Need a Lawyer for My California Child Sex Abuse Case?

Victims of California underage sex abuse should always consult with an experienced sex abuse attorney to fully understand their rights. Entities in California vigorously fight against sex abuse claims and attempting to resolve the issue on your own is not advisable. California sex abuse claims involve multiple, complex areas of California law, and you deserve the best legal representation in order to achieve maximum results. Put your trust in an experienced team of California sex abuse lawyers who will take the burden off your shoulders and achieve the best result possible for you.

Free Consultation With a California Sex Abuse Lawyer

Craig Charles Law has vast experience handling underage sex abuse claims in California. If you or your child has been abused in California, it is imperative to hire seasoned, qualified Californian sex abuse lawyers. Our sex abuse attorneys have assisted many clients in achieving justice against their sex abusers and are equipped to fight zealously against large, powerful organizations. Regardless of where the sex abuse occurred in California, our lawyers represent victims of sex abuse statewide, and we are available to meet you in-person for any sex abuse occurring within the state. We are a gay friendly, LGBTQIA affirming law practice. If you or a loved one was the victim of underage sexual abuse in California, give our attorneys a call for a free, confidential consultation. 424-343-0660.

Additionally, if you prefer to submit a confidential online inquiry, an experienced California sex abuse attorney will personally respond within 12 hours.

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