Iowa Sexual Abuse Lawsuits

Iowa Sexual Abuse Assault InformationIowa unfortunately has only made very minor changes to its statute of limitations laws regarding child sex abuse victims. In 2021, new legislation was signed into law eliminating the criminal state of limitations for child sex abuse, however little was done to extend the civil statute of limitations.

Below you will find more information on Iowa’s statute of limitations laws. These laws are important because they dictate how long a lawyer handling an Iowa sexual assault cases has to file a claim on behalf of a survivor. In addition, we’ve compiled a list of Iowa settlements and jury awards received by sexual abuse and assault survivors.

Iowa Statute of Limitations for Sexual Abuse & Assault

Iowa removed the criminal statute of limitations in 2021, but has done very little to improve upon its civil statute of limitations and has passed no revival window allowing older claims of child sexual abuse to be brought against an abuser.

Criminal Statute of Limitations Laws for Iowa

In May of 2021, Iowa eliminated the statute of limitations (SOLs) for felony child sex abuse crimes. Child USA, who has evaluated every state based on their criminal statute of limitations laws, gave Iowa a Criminal SOL letter grade of A, on the traditional A-F scale, where A is the best. A letter grade of A is defined full elimination for all felonies and misdemeanors.

Civil Statute of Limitations Laws for Iowa

In Iowa, a victim of child sex abuse only has one year after turning 18 to file a civil claim against his/her abuser. However, Iowa does have a 4-year discovery rule, which delays the start of the statute date if an injury can be linked to the abuse.

As an example, if a 45-year-old man was recently diagnosed with PTSD, and that diagnosis is related to being sexually abused as a child, he may still be able to bring a civil claim against his abuse even though he is older than 19 years of age. In addition, the discovery rule extends to 5 years after the last treatment date if the abuse was by a therapist or counselor. In 2021, legislators extended the civil statute of limitations laws for child abuse victims who were abused by an ‘adult providing training or instruction’, giving them an additional 5 years after the treatment ends or after the victim was last in school, to file a civil claim.

Child USA, who has also evaluated every state based on their civil statute of limitations laws, gave Iowa 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 and younger.

If you or someone you love was sexually abused or assaulted in Iowa, contact us now. Due to Iowa’s discovery rule, those sexually abused as a minor may still have a claim against their abuser, no matter how long ago the abuse occurred. Even if the abuser is deceased, you may still have a claim against the organization responsible.

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

Iowa Sexual Abuse Settlements & Jury Awards

The Diocese of Davenport and Dubuque Iowa have settled multiple claims of sexual abuse for amounts totaling nearly $60 million for claims of sexual abuse dating as far back as the 1930s.

October 2004 – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport agreed to settle 37 claims of sexual abuse which occurred during the 1950s and 1960s for $9,000,000. The names of 5 of the 11 priests named by the victims were released: Francis E. Bass, William F. Wiebler, Theordore Anthony Geerts, Drake R. Shafer and Rev. James Janssen.

May 2005 – A jury awarded damages in the amount of $1,890,000 to the nephew of Rev. James Janssen admitted to sexually abusing his nephew in 1950s but later recanted on the witness stand. Janssen was removed from the priesthood by the Vatican in 2004.

February 2006 – The Archdiocese of Dubuque agreed to pay $5,000,000 to 20 victims that were molested by clergy in northeast Iowa dating back 50 years. In addition to the settlement funds, the archdiocese also agreed to pay for therapy for victims and their spouses. The names and assignments of those priests credibly accused of sexual abusing children was also released. The names are below:

  • Albert Carman
  • William Goltz
  • Patrick McElliot
  • Julius Olinger
  • John Peters
  • Robert Reiss
  • William Roach
  • John Schmitz
  • William Schwartz

September 2006 – A jury awarded a victim $1,500,000 from the Diocese of Davenport asserting claims of sexual abuse by Monsignor Thomas J. Feeney. The victim’s case further argued that the Dioceses was negligent in supervising Feeney, that they knew about the abuse and did nothing to stop it. Thomas Feeney died in 1981. As a result of this jury award the Davenport Diocese filed for bankruptcy one month later.

December 2007 – After the Davenport Dioceses filed for bankruptcy in October of 2006, a settlement reached in November of 2007 with 156 victims, for $37,000,000 cleared the Dioceses to emerge from bankruptcy. The reports of sexual abuse by priests within the Davenport Dioceses spans back to the last 1930s.

April 2008 – The Archdiocese of Dubuque agreed to settle claims brought by 18 victims of sexual abuse for $4,700,000 and pay for therapy sessions for each victim. The settlement averages ~$260k per victim however the actual amount received by each victim will vary depending on the circumstances of the abuse. The claims were against 9 priests, all listed below:

  • Albert Carman
  • Timothy DeVenney
  • William Goltz
  • John Reed
  • Robert Reiss

*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 Iowa 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.

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.

Iowa Sexual Abuse Lawsuits: News & Updates

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