Suing Religious Groups For Child Abuse

Religious institutions hold a position of trust in communities across Maryland. People believe in them. They trust them with their children. So when that trust gets shattered through childhood sexual abuse, survivors often ask me: Can I actually sue the church? The synagogue? The organization itself? Yes, you can, but there are specific legal principles that determine when an institution can be held responsible.

When Religious Organizations Can Be Held Liable

Just because an organization is religious doesn’t mean it’s immune from lawsuits. Maryland law recognizes several ways survivors can go after these institutions. Negligent hiring and retention are probably the most common. This applies when an organization fails to properly screen employees or volunteers who work with children. If a simple background check had revealed prior abuse allegations, that institution may be liable. Negligent supervision is what it sounds like. Religious leaders or staff members knew, or should have known, about abuse happening under their roof. Maybe someone complained and nothing happened. Maybe they just weren’t paying attention when they absolutely should’ve been. Then there’s failure to report. When someone within the organization doesn’t follow Maryland’s mandatory reporting requirements to notify authorities about suspected abuse, that creates legal liability.

The Role Of Institutional Knowledge

What did they know? When did they know it? Brown Kiely LLP has handled situations where internal records showed religious leaders knew about complaints for years before doing anything. In some cases, decades passed while they shuffled abusers around or kept things quiet. Documentation becomes everything. Emails between church leadership. Meeting notes where concerns were raised. Personnel files. All of this can prove that an institution knew there was a problem and chose not to protect children. A lot of survivors worry that because their abuser was never criminally convicted, they can’t go after the organization. That’s not true. Civil cases work differently. The burden of proof is lower. You don’t need a conviction to file a lawsuit and win.

Understanding Institutional Defenses

Religious organizations will fight back. Some claim the abuser was acting outside the scope of their role. Others say they had no idea anything was wrong, but courts in Maryland have consistently held that institutions can’t just look the other way. If there were warning signs, the organization had a responsibility to act. The First Amendment does give religious organizations some protections. But those protections stop when children get hurt. Courts have ruled that religious freedom doesn’t shield institutions from accountability when it comes to child sexual abuse.

Evidence That Strengthens Your Case

Building a case against a religious organization means gathering specific types of evidence:

• Prior complaints against the abuser, even informal ones
• The institution’s policies on background checks and child protection
• Training records showing what staff and volunteers were taught
• Communications between leadership discussing the abuser
• Testimony from other survivors

A Maryland Child Victims Act lawyer can help you get this evidence through legal discovery. Sometimes the most damning proof sits in files the institution really doesn’t want anyone to see.

Statute Of Limitations Considerations

Maryland’s Child Victims Act eliminated the statute of limitations for civil actions arising from child sexual abuse. That means you can file a claim no matter how long ago the abuse happened. This was a massive shift. Before this law, strict time limits kept adult survivors from seeking justice. The current law recognizes that survivors often need years, sometimes decades, before they’re ready to come forward.

What Damages Are Available

Economic damages cover things like therapy costs, medical expenses, and lost income. Childhood sexual abuse affects people for the rest of their lives. Non-economic damages address pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life. And in cases where the organization’s conduct was particularly terrible, punitive damages might be available to punish the institution.

Moving Forward With Your Claim

Taking legal action against a religious organization isn’t easy. Survivors worry about privacy, what their faith community will think, and whether anyone will believe them. Those concerns make sense. But they shouldn’t stop you from at least understanding your options. A Maryland Child Victims Act lawyer can walk you through what protections are available and what you can expect. You don’t have to make any decisions right away. If you experienced childhood sexual abuse within a religious organization, you have legal rights. Whether you choose to pursue those rights is entirely up to you.