Georgia Sexual Abuse Lawsuits

Georgia’s civil statute of limitations (SOL) laws are not victim friendly in providing survivors of childhood sexual abuse an avenue to justice. While bills have been proposed to extend the civil SOL and even open a revival window, none of them have been able to pass through the state’s Legislature and become law. Civil SOL laws enable lawyers handling sexual abuse claims in Georgia to file cases against sexual predators, including clergy members, and the Catholic Church.

Below you will find information on Georgia’s statute of limitations laws. These laws are important because they dictate how long a lawyer handling Georgia sexual assault cases has to file a claim on behalf of a survivor. In addition, we’ve compiled a list of Georgia settlements received by sexual abuse and assault survivors and a list of Georgia’s ‘credibly’ accused priests released by Georgia’s Dioceses.

Georgia Statute of Limitations for Sexual Abuse & Assault

Georgia has made little progress in the past decade towards helping survivors of sexual abuse get civil justice by minimally extending its civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse crimes against non-perpetrators. Efforts to improve those laws have also been met with resistance, and currently there are no bills in the Legislature which, if passed, would help survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Criminal Statute of Limitations Laws for Georgia

In Georgia, there is no criminal SOL for the following child sex abuse crimes: trafficking of victim under 16, cruelty to children in the 1st degree of victim under 16, rape of victim under age 16, aggravated sodomy of victim under age 16, child molestation of victim under age 16, enticing a child of victim under age 16, incest of victim under age 16. For other felonies, the SOL is 7-years from the offense and 2-years from the offense for misdemeanors. Child USA, who has evaluated every state based on its criminal statute of limitations laws, gave Georgia a Criminal SOL letter grade of C, on the traditional A-F scale, where A is the best. A letter grade of C is defined as an elimination of the criminal SOL for some/all felonies.

Civil Statute of Limitations Laws for Georgia

In Georgia, the civil SOL for child sex abuse claims against all defendants is capped at age 23. There is a 2-year discovery rule for civil actions in Georgia where the abuse occurred on or after July 1, 2015. Child USA, who has also evaluated every state based on its civil statute of limitations laws, gave Georgia a Civil SOL Age Cap letter grade of F, on the traditional A-F scale, where A is the best. A letter grade of F is defined as a civil SOL age cap of age 34 or younger.

Additionally, Child USA gave Georgia a related SOL Revival Law letter grade of D on the same A-F scale. A letter grade of D is defined as a revival window or revival up to a certain age, for claims against perpetrators only.

Go to our main sexual abuse page to learn more about the process of filing a clergy sexual abuse claim.

Georgia Sexual Abuse Settlements

October 2009 – The Diocese of Savannah agreed to pay $4.24 million to settle claims by a man who said Rev. Wayland Y. Brown sexually abused him from 1978 to 1983 while he was a student at St. James Catholic School. The abuse started when the victim was only 10 years old. In 2003, Brown was convicted of abusing two boys in Maryland and served five years in prison.

July 2016 – The Diocese of Savannah agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle claims by a man who said Rev. Wayland Y. Brown sexually abused him in the late 1980s. Brown invoked his Fifth Amendment right when he was questioned about the abuse. The settlement is believed to be the third largest in the country for a single survivor.

The settlements listed above are offered for educational purposes only and do not guarantee any future outcome or settlement. Each legal situation is different, and past performance does not guarantee future results. We do not maintain that is a full list of all settlements in the state of Georgia but merely a grouping of those we choose to share on our website. Please contact us if you would like additional settlements included or if you notice any inaccuracies on our site. We strive to provide our viewers the most up to date and accurate information as possible.

Georgia Catholic Dioceses Release Names of Clergy Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of Children

Catholic Dioceses in Georgia have released the names of priests and clergy members who they deemed to be ‘credibly accused’ of sexual abuse of a child.

The lists below will be updated as litigation or investigations are concluded so that new names of credibly accused priests in Georgia can be added.

Use the links below to navigate directly to a particular diocese’s clergy list.

• Archdiocese of Atlanta Credibly Accused Priest List
• Diocese of Savannah Credibly Accused Priest List

Archdiocese of Atlanta Credibly Accused Priest List

Diocese of Savannah Credibly Accused Priest List

Click to view our larger list of accused priests. Here you can search by accused clergy first and last name, Parish/Diocese, city and state, and even by the years of their assignments.

Georgia Sexual Abuse Lawsuits: News & Updates