Over 400 sex abuse suits filed as litigation window opens

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - James Grein is one of hundreds of victims who filed a flurry of sex abuse lawsuits Wednesday in New York as the state began accepting cases once blocked by the statute of limitations. 

“I have been waiting years, I have suffered many, many years. And this last year has been tremendously up and down, and I’m just joyful,” Grein said.

Grein is suing the Archdiocese of New York, alleging that now-disgraced Cardinal Theodore McCarrick repeatedly sexually abused him in the 1960s. 

Those filing lawsuits have a one-year window, created by lawmakers to give people who say they are victims a second chance to sue over abuse, regardless of how long ago it happened. 

“Today, New York gives all children who were sexually abused a voice,” said attorney Jeffrey Herman. “I would say about 60 to 65 percent of all victims coming forward in my experience were abused within the Catholic Church.”

Other institutions likely facing lawsuits include the Boy Scouts of America, Rockefeller University and many public and private schools.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.