Articles Posted in Sex Abuse

Sexual violence is a pervasive and deeply unsettling reality that affects millions of lives across the United States. The statistics paint a grim picture: according to the CDC’s 2023/2024 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 45.1% of women have experienced some form of contact sexual violence during their lifetime, 21.0% of women have experienced completed or attempted rape, and 16.9% of men have experienced contact sexual violence.

There is sheer horror behind these statistics.  Too many innocent people whose lives have been altered by this evil. Our lawyers are always focused on remembering that every percentage point represents countless stories of human suffering.

This page will provide the most recent data and statistics on the incidence rates for child sexual abuse in the United States. These statistics are current as of September 2026 and are drawn from a collection of sources including government agencies and various non-profit organizations.

If you were the victim of sexual abuse or assault, either as a child or an adult, you may have the right to bring a civil lawsuit against your abuser and, in many cases, against a school, hospital, church, company, government agency, or other organization that may share responsibility for what happened.

In this post, our lawyers provide an overview of sexual abuse lawsuits in Virginia. We cover Virginia’s statute of limitations for sex abuse civil cases, recent lawsuits and settlements, and the potential settlement value of these cases. Virginia changed its statute of limitations law again in 2026, which is important for some childhood sexual abuse claims and makes an already confusing deadline analysis even more complicated.

If you have a Virginia sex abuse case, contact us today for a free consultation at 800-553-8082.

When the state removes children from their parents or guardians and places them in foster care, the state assumes significant responsibility for keeping those children safe. If a child is sexually abused because of a dangerous foster placement, ignored warning signs, or a failure to respond to reports of abuse, the child may have legal claims against the state, a private foster care agency, or both.

Foster care sex abuse lawsuits are now being filed across the country. On this page, our national sex abuse lawyers look at the basics of foster care sexual abuse lawsuits and their potential settlement payout value.

Our foster care sexual abuse lawyers represent victims across the country. If you have a foster care sex abuse case, contact us at 800-553-8082 or contact us online.

With its new statute of limitations, California has become an epicenter for school sexual abuse lawsuits. A large percentage of landmark school sex abuse settlements are coming from California.

If you were sexually abused by a teacher, coach, counselor, administrator, volunteer, contractor, or another student, you may have a civil claim against not only the predator who abused you, but the school and other organizations.

So many victims do not bring claims because they think the bar is higher than it is. The biggest impediment we see is the assumption that you needed to report the crime at the time or even get a criminal conviction. Nothing could be further from the truth. You could still have a case if the sexual abuse was never reported to police, prosecutors declined to file charges, or the school insisted that it could not substantiate your complaint.

Dr. Michael Wilmington sex abuse lawsuits are being filed by former pediatric patients who allege that Wilmington used his position as a trusted doctor to sexually abuse children during medical care. The lawsuits target the now-deceased pediatrician’s estate, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest, Northwest Permanente, and potentially other institutions that employed, supervised, credentialed, or failed to stop him.

These cases are about more than one doctor. A child cannot be expected to understand when a medical exam crosses the line. Parents often trust the doctor, the clinic, the white coat, and the hospital system. That is why these cases focus on what Kaiser, Northwest Permanente, clinic staff, supervisors, chaperones, nurses, administrators, and other institutions knew or should have known.

The public allegations against Wilmington are serious. Vancouver Police reported that their investigation began after a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about child sexual abuse material. Police later reported that Wilmington was associated with Chad Hartley, that Wilmington allegedly hosted naked sleepovers with young children at his La Center residence, that a search warrant was served at Wilmington’s home, that evidence was seized, and that a felony warrant for Child Molestation I was issued before Wilmington was found deceased from apparent suicide. The Vancouver Police release also asked anyone aware of a child who may have had unsupervised contact with Wilmington or Hartley to contact local law enforcement.