Georgia Sex Abuse Lawsuits

Sexual abuse lawsuits in Georgia are becoming more common as survivors come forward to hold schools, churches, residential treatment centers, and other institutions accountable. Georgia sex abuse attorneys are now filing lawsuits against third-party organizations that enabled or ignored abuse, even when the abuse happened years ago. While Georgia’s statute of limitations laws are still more restrictive than in other states, recent court decisions and public pressure have created more legal opportunities for victims of sexual abuse to seek justice and compensation through civil litigation.

This page explains how Georgia sex abuse lawsuits work and what survivors need to know about the legal process. We cover who can be sued in civil sex abuse cases, the statute of limitations for both adult and child victims, and the average settlement payouts and jury verdicts in Georgia sex abuse cases. Whether the abuse occurred in a public school, juvenile detention center, private therapy program, religious institution, or through rideshare services like Uber or Lyft, our lawyers can help determine whether you have a case and who may be financially liable.

Georgia sexual abuse lawsuits are being filed in both state and federal court, including claims against school districts under Title IX, civil rights lawsuits under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and claims against private organizations for negligent hiring, supervision, and failure to protect. Plaintiffs are also pursuing lawsuits related to institutional abuse at residential treatment centers and youth programs, particularly those with a history of staff misconduct or regulatory violations. If you or a loved one suffered abuse, a civil lawsuit can provide both financial compensation and public accountability for those who failed to protect you.

If you or your child were the victim of sexual abuse and want to file a sexual abuse lawsuit in Georgia, contact us today at 800-553-8082 or contact us online.

Recent Georgia Sex Abuse Lawsuit News

July 3, 2025: New Middle School Sex Abuse Lawsuit

In a new lawsuit filed on July 2, 2025, a Georgia man named Ethan Williams accuses Newton County School District and several top administrators of enabling years of sexual abuse he endured as a student at Liberty Middle School. The suit details how Williams, then just 13, was repeatedly groomed and sexually assaulted by his choir teacher beginning in 2019.

According to the complaint, the teacher used his position of authority to isolate the child, gain his trust, and manipulate him into silence through marijuana, compliments, and gifts. The abuse reportedly occurred at school,  the teacher’s apartment, and in other off-campus locations and continued until early 2021.

The lawsuit alleges that school officials ignored multiple red flags, including the teacher’s history of misconduct at his previous job in Clayton County, where he had already been the subject of a state ethics complaint.

Despite this, the district hired him and put him in close contact with children. That alone is a problem, but then they failed to act even after receiving formal notice of an ongoing investigation. Administrators allegedly disregarded their duties under both Georgia law and federal Title IX guidelines, choosing not to enforce basic safeguards or respond meaningfully to reports of suspicious behavior.

July 1, 2025: Ridgeview Institute Under Fire After Series of Sex Abuse Reports

Ridgeview Institute, a behavioral health facility in Smyrna, Georgia, is facing mounting legal and regulatory scrutiny following a series of disturbing sexual abuse reports involving both adult and juvenile patients. Between January 2024 and February 2025, Smyrna police responded to over 1,500 calls from the facility, with at least 14 active investigations into alleged sexual offenses occurring on-site. Victims include teenage patients, adult women, and vulnerable individuals with severe mental health conditions.

In one criminal case, a 34-year-old male patient was indicted for rape and aggravated sodomy after allegedly assaulting a female patient at the facility. Families have expressed growing concern about Ridgeview’s lack of supervision and reporting failures. Several parents told local media they only learned of their children’s assaults after demanding answers, often long after incidents had been reported to the facility internally.

Our law firm is reviewing these claims.

June 26, 2025: Truett McConnell University President Placed on Leave Amid Sexual Abuse Allegations

Truett McConnell University in Cleveland, Georgia, has placed its president, Emil Caner, on administrative leave pending an investigation into allegations that he ignored reports of sexual abuse by a former administrator and professor.

A former student and employee alleged that she was sexually assaulted multiple times at the administrator’s home during Bible study sessions. The university stated it first became aware of the allegations in February 2024 when the administrator disclosed he was under investigation by law enforcement. Although his employment was terminated shortly thereafter, the university later discovered he had sent numerous sexually explicit and theologically distorted emails.

While a criminal investigation did not yield sufficient evidence for charges, at least in the eyes of prosecutors, the former student’s attorney claims earlier complaints were ignored. Due to Georgia’s utterly unfair  statute of limitations, the victim cannot pursue civil litigation, but the local district attorney is reportedly reassessing the case.

Definition of Sex Abuse in Georgia

Under Georgia law, any non-consensual sexual touching or contact made with the intent of sexual gratification is considered sexual abuse or sexual assault. In the context of a civil lawsuit, sexual abuse is referred to as the tort of sexual battery. It generally has the same definition and meaning as criminal offenses.

For sexual contact to meet the definition of sexual battery, two essential elements must be present: (1) sexual intent, and (2) lack of consent.

The sexual intent element is established by showing that the defendant engaged in sexual contact with the clear and express purposes of sexual gratification or arousal. An innocent or accidental sexual touching does not amount to sexual battery.

The second element is the absence of consent. Children do not have the legal capacity to give consent to any sexual touching. This means that any intentional sexual contact with a minor by an adult lacks consent and qualifies as sexual battery.

Filing a Civil Lawsuit for Sex Abuse in Georgia

Georgia law enables victims of sex abuse to bring civil lawsuits and seek financial compensation. A victim has a right to file a civil lawsuit at any time, and it is not contingent on whether the victim pressed criminal charges or whether the abuser was convicted. Even if the victim never reported the abuse to the police when it happened, they can still file a civil lawsuit.

Victims can bring civil lawsuits for sexual battery as long as they have the courage to testify under oath about the facts of the alleged sexual abuse or assault. The victim’s testimony can also be bolstered by additional evidence such as medical records or fact testimony from other witnesses.

If you file a sexual abuse lawsuit in Georgia, the civil case will be public record. However, victims who file sex abuse lawsuits can keep their names and identity confidential. Georgia’s court rules allow victims in these sensitive cases to use “Jane Doe” or initials in the court filings for privacy purposes. This means that people cannot go on the internet and easily find out the details of your case.

Holding Third-Parties Liable in Georgia Sex Abuse Lawsuits

Anyone who has been sexually abused or assaulted has the right to file a civil lawsuit and seek compensation. Victims can file civil lawsuits for sexual abuse even if they did not press criminal charges and even if they never told anyone about the abuse.

So who can sex abuse victims sue in a civil lawsuit? Victims of abuse can always file suit against the individual who abused or assaulted them. The problem with doing that, however, is that even if you win the lawsuit you probably won’t be able to get any money out of the abuser. In many cases, the abuser might already be dead or in jail.

The real goal in a sexual abuse civil lawsuit is to go after a third party who can be held liable for the abuse. Third parties can be held liable in a civil sex abuse lawsuit if you can show that they were negligent and that this negligence allowed the abuse to happen.

For example, if you were abused by a teacher at your school, the school could potentially be liable for negligently failing to stop the abuse or investigate prior complaints against the teacher.

Common examples of third parties who can be liable in sexual abuse civil lawsuits include schools, churches, and organizations such as the Boy Scouts, etc.

The big question in these cases is often whether the perpetrator’s conduct was foreseeable to their employer.  Foreseeability of harm in Georgia does not require evidence of substantially similar prior incidents but can be determined based on the totality of circumstances, such as the nature of the premises or systems in place.  This means that in sex abuse lawsuits, plaintiffs can argue that the employer should have anticipated the risk of harm based on factors like inadequate security measures, the environment’s inherent risks, or the failure to address known vulnerabilities, even if no prior incidents of similar abuse occurred.

Georgia Sex Abuse Statute of Limitations

Many states have recently changed their laws to give child victims of sexual abuse more time to file civil lawsuits. Unfortunately, Georgia still has some of the strictest statute of limitations laws for sex abuse lawsuits.

When the sexual abuse victim is an adult, they only have 2 years from the date of the abuse to file a civil lawsuit. O.C.G.A § 9-3-33.  If the victim was under the age of 18 when the sexual abuse occurred, the law is slightly different.

Victims of child sexual abuse are still subject to Georgia’s general 2-year statute of limitations; however, that 2-year period does not begin to run until the victim turns 18. So child sex abuse victims have until their 23^rd birthday to file a lawsuit.

Also, if the child sexual abuse occurred after 2015 (when Georgia revised its law) then victims can argue that their 2-year SOL period should be extended under the “discovery rule.” The discovery rule can be used to extend the SOL period if the victim can show that they had a delayed discovery of the abuse due to repressed memories. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33.1

In Doe v. St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, the plaintiff filed a sex abuse lawsuit against Archbishop Wilton Gregory, the Archdiocese of Atlanta, and Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church, alleging childhood sexual abuse by a former teacher at Saint Joseph’s Church in the late 1970s, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision to dismiss Doe’s complaint as time-barred.

Doe, who served as an altar boy from ages 12 to 15, claimed that a priest sexually molested him around eight to ten times between 1976 and 1978.

Despite acknowledging the sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in a public statement and listing him as a “credibly accused” clergy member, the defendants successfully argued that Doe’s claims, including those under the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and for maintaining a public nuisance, were barred by the statute of limitations.

The court found that Doe’s non-nuisance and RICO claims were time-barred and that the alleged conduct did not constitute a public nuisance under the law.

The court’s ruling highlights the challenges survivors of childhood sexual abuse in Georgia face when seeking legal redress years after the abuse occurred, especially when statutory limitations constrain their ability to file lawsuits.

Georgia Juvenile Detention Center Sex Abuse Lawsuits

The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (GDJJ) is the state agency in Georgia that is tasked with operating its juvenile detention centers for criminal offenders under the age of 18. GDJJ operates facilities across the state that fall into one of two categories: Regional Youth Detention Centers (RYDCs) and Youth Development Campuses (YDCs). The YDCs are short-term detention centers that house juveniles who are awaiting trial or sentencing. The YDCs are the longer-term “correctional” facilities for juveniles who have been sentenced to a period of detention.

Recent investigations by federal government agencies and non-profit organizations have revealed that inmates in Georgia’s juvenile detention facilities are frequently the victim of sexual assault and sexual abuse. In most cases, the juvenile detainees are sexually abused by the staff members at the facilities who are supposed to be protecting them. Reports released by the U.S. Department of Justice indicate that the problem of inmate sexual abuse is widespread and systemic in Georgia. The reports also show that certain facilities in Georgia rank as some of the worst in the country when it comes to the victimization of juvenile inmates.

Juvenile inmates who were sexually abused or assaulted in Georgia juvenile facilities are now bringing juvenile detention sex abuse lawsuits against the state and the GDJJ. These lawsuits allege that GDJJ was negligent in failing to protect juvenile detainees from sexual abuse. Among other things, the lawsuits claim that GDJJ was negligent in failing to properly screen staff members, failing to properly train and monitor staff after they were hired, and failing to adopt policies and procedures to adequately safeguard inmates and prevent sexual abuse.

Sexual abuse of juvenile detainees in rampant in all of Georgia’s juvenile detention facilities. However, the problem is much more acute at the Youth Development Campuses (YDCs), where juveniles are detained for much longer periods.

Georgia Residential Treatment Facility Sex Abuse Lawsuits

Georgia is home to dozens of residential treatment centers that market themselves as safe places for children and adolescents struggling with mental health, trauma, or behavioral challenges.

But for many survivors, these facilities were anything but safe. Across the state, current and former residents of youth treatment programs have come forward with disturbing accounts of sexual abuse, physical mistreatment, and gross institutional negligence. These mental institution sexual abuse lawsuits are not just about individual acts of abuse. They are about systemic failure to protect children in state-licensed or privately operated facilities. Because the stories that come out of the residential treatment facilities are truly mind blowing.

Survivors report being sexually assaulted by staff, other residents, and in some cases, third-party service providers while under supervision. In many cases, administrators completely ignored complaints, failed to screen staff properly, or created environments where abuse could continue unchecked. These facilities are responsible for the safety of vulnerable youth in their care. When that trust is broken, they can be held legally accountable.

Georgia law allows survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits against both the perpetrator and any organization that played a role in enabling or concealing the abuse. In institutional cases, that often means the facility itself and any corporate, religious, or nonprofit organization behind it. While Georgia’s statute of limitations for child sex abuse lawsuits is still limited compared to some states, lawsuits are moving forward in state and federal court, especially when the abuse occurred more recently or there is a documented history of negligence.

Common Allegations in Georgia Facility Lawsuits

Lawsuits filed against Georgia residential treatment centers frequently include claims such as:

• Failure to properly vet, train, or supervise staff

• Negligent retention of staff with known misconduct

• Allowing unsupervised contact between residents and adult staff or visitors

• Ignoring or covering up reports of abuse

• Housing children in unsafe or unsanitary conditions

• Retaliation against residents who report misconduct

These cases are typically brought by survivors who were placed in the facility by parents, the Department of Juvenile Justice, or the Department of Human Services. Survivors often describe being isolated, coerced, and denied contact with supportive adults, which delayed or prevented disclosure of abuse until years later.

Facilities of Interest in Georgia

The following residential treatment centers, youth programs, and behavioral facilities in Georgia have been named in lawsuits, investigative reports, or survivor complaints involving sexual abuse, staff misconduct, or systemic negligence:

• Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health Georgia (Kennesaw)

• Inner Harbour (Douglasville, part of Devereux Georgia – Devereux has a long history of trouble)

• Morningstar Youth Academy (Brunswick)

• Twin Cedars Youth and Family Services (multiple locations, including LaGrange)

• Georgia Industrial Children’s Home (Macon)

• Paul Anderson Youth Home (Vidalia)

• Grace Harbour Behavioral Health (multiple locations)

• Youth Villages – Inner Harbour Campus (Douglasville)

• ChrisKids (Atlanta)

• The Methodist Home of the South Georgia Conference (Macon and Americus)

• Morningstar Children and Family Services (Brunswick)

• Anchor Hospital adolescent unit (Atlanta)

• Youth Challenge Academy (Fort Stewart and Milledgeville)

• State-run youth detention centers with therapeutic programming (through DJJ and DBHDD)

Each of these facilities may be a potential defendant in a sex abuse lawsuit depending on the time frame, the conduct involved, and the pattern of institutional failure.

Georgia Sex Abuse Settlements & Verdicts

Sex abuse settlement compensation amounts in Georgia are calculated based on several key factors, with the defendant’s ability to pay or their insurance coverage being a primary consideration. You need a defendant who has meaningful assets or insurance. Defendants with substantial assets or comprehensive insurance policies, such as large institutions, will settle for higher compensation amounts because there financial capacity to compensate the victim is there. If a defendant has limited financial resources or lacks insurance, getting money in that case is unlikely, even if the abuse was severe.

Another critical factor is the severity of the harm suffered by the victim. Cases involving long-term or particularly brutal abuse will result in higher settlement amounts due to the obvious physical and emotional damage that comes with abuse. abuse. Other intangible impact of the abuse on the victim’s life is also heavily considered. This includes psychological conditions like PTSD, emotional distress, and the broader effect on the victim’s personal relationships, mental health, and career.

The age of the victim at the time of the abuse is another important consideration. Younger victims generally get higher compensation due to their increased vulnerability and the long-lasting trauma typically associated with childhood abuse. Additionally, the costs associated with medical care, therapy, and ongoing psychological treatment are factored into the settlement to cover the victim’s compensation.

Here are some example Georgia sex abuse settlement amounts and jury payouts and the stories behind these recoveries.

• $550,000 Settlement: A 12-year-old female student suffered emotional distress after she was sexually molested by a substitute teacher at the defendant’s school. The plaintiff contended that the defendant failed to properly hire, train, and supervise its employees, negligently hired a teacher with a criminal record of sexual assault, and negligently attempted to conceal and alter information regarding the substitute teacher’s criminal history.
• $3,500,000 Settlement: A 16-year-old was sexually assaulted by her 31-year-old supervisor in the workplace. Despite her resistance, he overpowered her. The company initially offered only $5,000 to settle the case, but the claim ultimately settled for $3,500,000.
• $600,000 Settlement: 3 female students alleged that they were sexually abused by a male teacher at their high school. They sued the school district, claiming that it was negligent in their hiring and supervision of the teacher who abused them. Each of the 3 girls received $200,000 under the settlement.
• $83,000 Verdict: A 4-year-old female was sexually molested by a 10-year-old male while at church. Her parents sued the church, alleging that it failed to provide reasonable supervision to ensure the safety of the children entrusted to its care, that it failed to prevent the sexual abuse, and that it knew or should have known of the sexual tendencies of the boy who committed the abuse.
• $345,000,000 Settlement: Twenty men sued, claiming they were sexually abused as students at the Darlington School in Rome, requiring five insurance companies that provided coverage to the school to pay the settlement. The school settled, and a Floyd County Superior Court jury ruled the insurance companies must pay the settlement for the abuse that took place between 1974 and 1994 involving former teacher and dorm supervisor Roger Stifflemire.
• $1,000,000,000 Verdict: The plaintiff, a 14-year-old female, alleged she was raped at an apartment complex by an on-duty security guard hired by the defendant security company. The plaintiff maintained she was visiting friends for a weekend sleepover at the apartment complex when the guard made contact with her and supplied her with alcohol. She said she proceeded to walk over to some benches inside the apartment complex, and while she was unconscious from her alcohol consumption, the guard had sexual intercourse with her.  The plaintiff contended that the defendant was negligent in its failure to hire the guard with a proper license, supervise him after hiring him, and ensure that he obtained a license after hiring him.
• $570,000 Settlement: The plaintiff was a 16-year-old boy who alleged that a male counselor at his school sexually abused him.  He sued the school board of the counselor’s old school, claiming that it was negligent in not reporting to state authorities the counselor’s prior dismissal from that school district, which would have revoked his license, and which allowed him to seek employment elsewhere.
• $500,000 Verdict: An eight-year-old female suffered psychological injury after she was raped and/or sexually molested while riding to a school for deaf children. The bus driver’s 30-year-old son, present on the bus at the time of the incident, was charged with the assault. The plaintiff contended that the defendants were negligent for allowing a man charged with rape to ride the bus and that the man was banned from the school campus due to previous sexual attempts with a number of school girls.
• $4,240,000 Settlement: The Diocese of Savannah agreed to a $4.24 million settlement with a victim who alleged sexual abuse by former priest Wayland Brown. . The lawsuit claimed that church officials were aware of Brown’s abusive behavior but failed to take appropriate action
• $4,500,000 Settlement: In 2016, another victim reached a $4.5 million settlement with the Diocese of Savannah over allegations of sexual abuse once again by Wayland Brown. The victim accused the diocese of negligence in supervising and retaining Brown despite knowledge of his misconduct.
• $10,000,000 Settlement: The Archdiocese of Atlanta settled a lawsuit for $10 million after two young brothers were sexually abused by a youth worker at the Church of St. Ann in Marietta. The lawsuit revealed that the church had been warned about the worker’s behavior prior to the abuse.
• $432,000,000 Settlement: The Anneewakee Treatment Center for Emotionally Disturbed Youth, based in Douglasville, Georgia, reached a $432 million settlement with 110 former patients who alleged physical and sexual abuse, exploitation of child labor, and deprivation of education from the 1960s through the mid-1980s.

Contact Us About Georgia Sex Abuse Lawsuits

If you were the victim of sexual abuse and want to file a sexual abuse lawsuit in Georgia, contact us today at 800-553-8082 or contact us online.