Rhode Island made history on June 11, 2026, when Governor Dan McKee signed legislation that gives childhood sexual abuse survivors a real second chance at civil justice. The legislation (H-7200a/S-2616a) amends the statute of limitations for claims of sexual abuse of a child and creates a two-year window for victims to bring otherwise time-barred claims against institutions and supervisors accused of enabling or covering up sexual abuse. If you were abused as a child and believed your time had run out, this law changes that. What happened to you was not your fault, and you deserve the chance to be heard.

Table of Contents

• What Rhode Island’s Child Sexual Abuse Lookback Window Actually Does
• The Legal History That Made This Window Necessary
• Who Can File a Claim Under the 2026 Lookback Window
• The Rhode Island Attorney General’s Report and Why This Law Exists
• The June 30, 2028 Deadline Is Real, and Time Matters
• How Sommers Schwartz Represents Rhode Island Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors
• FAQs About the Rhode Island Child Sexual Abuse Lookback Window

What Rhode Island’s Child Sexual Abuse Lookback Window Actually Does

On June 11, 2026, Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee signed legislation giving survivors of childhood sexual abuse a new opportunity to pursue civil claims that would otherwise be permanently closed. The law opens a two-year revival window beginning July 1, 2026, and closing June 30, 2028. That is the core of this law. Every survivor who was told their claim was too old needs to understand what this window means for them personally.

Under the new law, codified as an amendment to R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-51, a cause of action for damages involving sexual conduct or sexual contact with a child, including claims alleging negligent supervision of a person who sexually abused a minor, or claims that a defendant’s conduct caused or contributed to childhood sexual abuse through wrongful conduct, negligence, or default in supervision, hiring, employment, training, monitoring, failure to report, or concealment of sexual abuse, may be revived even if it was previously time-barred. All such revived claims must be commenced by no later than June 30, 2028.

The new law specifically targets institutions and organizations such as churches, schools, youth programs, healthcare facilities, and sports leagues, as well as supervisors. This is not a narrow fix. It applies broadly to any setting where an institution failed to protect a child.

The law also addresses how abuse is defined. For purposes of this statute, “sexual abuse” means any act committed by a defendant against a person who was under 18 years of age at the time, where that act would have constituted a criminal violation of Chapter 37 of Title 11 of the Rhode Island General Laws. The law also clarifies that a survivor does not need to prove which specific act in a series of ongoing abuse caused their injury. They may calculate the discovery date from the last act by the same defendant that was part of a common scheme or plan.

One more important protection: the knowledge of a custodial parent or guardian cannot be attributed to the child. If a parent knew about abuse and did nothing, that cannot be used against the survivor to start the clock running early.

The Legal History That Made This Window Necessary

To understand why this law matters so much, you have to understand what came before it. Rhode Island’s statute of limitations for civil childhood sexual abuse claims has changed dramatically over the decades, and not always in survivors’ favor.

Prior to 1992, Rhode Island’s three-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims applied to lawsuits alleging injuries from childhood sexual abuse. That year, Rhode Island established a special cause of action for childhood sexual abuse claims under § 9-1-51, initially providing three years to file a lawsuit from when a victim discovered or reasonably should have discovered the injury caused by the abuse.

In 2019, the General Assembly passed legislation expanding the civil limitations period to 35 years from the act of the abuse, or seven years from when the plaintiff discovered or should have discovered his or her injuries. That legislation, known as Annie’s Law, was named for Representative McEntee’s sister, Dr. Ann Hagan Webb, a clergy sexual abuse survivor and advocate for fellow survivors.

Annie’s Law was a meaningful step forward, but it had a critical gap. Annie’s Law revived civil claims against “perpetrator defendants.” But in the 2023 case of Houllahan v. Gelineau, the state Supreme Court ruled that the law’s revival provision applied only to civil claims against individual perpetrators of abuse, and not against their supervisors or institutions.

Some Rhode Island clergy abuse claims were dismissed after the passage of Annie’s Law between 2019 and 2026 because their claims against institutions and non-perpetrators were ruled to be time-barred in Houllahan v. Gelineau. During this period, survivors could sue perpetrators under the new 35-year statute of limitations, but any claims they made against institutions or supervisors were dismissed if they had previously expired under the state’s existing three-year statute of limitations on personal injury claims.

The 2026 revival window law is the legislature’s response: it reopens the institutional path that the 2023 decision had closed. Survivors who were told their claims against a diocese, school, or organization were permanently barred now have a concrete opportunity to act.

Who Can File a Claim Under the 2026 Lookback Window

The lookback window is open to survivors of childhood sexual abuse whose civil claims were previously time-barred. You do not need to have been abused recently. The window is specifically designed for people whose abuse happened years or even decades ago, and whose legal deadlines had already passed under prior law.

The new law is broader than the Catholic Church. It reaches institutions of every kind, including schools, youth programs, healthcare settings, sports organizations, and other entities that failed to protect children in their care. So whether abuse happened at a parish, a private school, a residential facility, a hospital, or a youth organization, the window may apply.

The law covers claims not just against the person who committed the abuse, but also against institutions and supervisors whose conduct contributed to the abuse. Under H-7200a/S-2616a, that includes negligent supervision, negligent hiring, negligent training or monitoring, failure to report abuse, and active concealment of abuse. If an organization knew what was happening and looked the other way, or shuffled an abuser to a new location to protect its reputation, that conduct falls within the scope of this law.

There is one important distinction for claims against state entities. Under the statute, all claims or causes of action brought against the State of Rhode Island or any political subdivision are subject to the limitations on damages set forth in R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 9-31-1, 9-31-2, or 9-31-3, and damages recovered in such claims shall not exceed $100,000. Claims against state entities are also exempt from the application of prejudgment interest under R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-21-10.

If you are unsure whether your situation qualifies, that is exactly the kind of question a sexual abuse lawyer at Sommers Schwartz can help you answer. An attorney can review the facts of your case and tell you where you stand before the window closes.

The Rhode Island Attorney General’s Report and Why This Law Exists

This law did not emerge from nowhere. It was driven in large part by a sweeping investigation into child sexual abuse within the Diocese of Providence, one of the most significant law enforcement reports in Rhode Island history.

The push for this law was closely tied to a 284-page report released in March 2026 by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha. The report documented more than 300 survivors of abuse within the Diocese of Providence and identified 75 clergy members with credible allegations of sexual misconduct dating back to 1950. It also outlined how the Diocese allegedly concealed that abuse for decades.

The Attorney General’s report identified specific failures within the Diocese’s policies and practices. These included inadequate supervision of credibly accused clergy, a lack of clear written standards for internal investigations of clergy abuse complaints, insufficient documentation of records related to those investigations, and a lack of transparency regarding the full scope of credibly accused clergy who served in the Diocese. The report also found that in some instances within the past decade, the Diocese did not adequately respond to concerns about inappropriate conduct and possible grooming behavior by clergy.

The Rhode Island House of Representatives voted 68-4 to approve the bill that would open the two-year revival window from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028, for claims previously barred by the statute of limitations. The Rhode Island Senate previously passed the bill with a 37-0 vote. The near-unanimous support in both chambers reflects how seriously lawmakers took the evidence of institutional failure.

The Attorney General’s report also recommended targeted legislative reforms, including expanding the civil statute of limitations for bringing claims arising from child sexual abuse against institutional defendants and enacting a limited lookback window to revive expired claims. H-7200a/S-2616a is the direct result of those recommendations. If you were abused by a clergy member named in that report, or by anyone connected to a Rhode Island institution, a sexual assault lawyer at Sommers Schwartz can help you understand whether this window applies to your situation.

The June 30, 2028 Deadline Is Real, and Time Matters

The lookback window is not permanent. All time-barred claims must be filed by June 30, 2028, or they may be forever barred. That is a hard deadline written directly into the statute. Once it passes, the opportunity created by this law is gone.

Two years sounds like a long time, but it is not. Building a civil sexual abuse case takes real work. Attorneys need to gather records, locate witnesses, identify all responsible parties, and develop a clear theory of liability. In institutional abuse cases especially, that process can involve decades-old documents, former employees who are difficult to locate, and institutions that have reorganized or changed leadership. The earlier you start, the stronger your case can be.

During this 24-month period, survivors can file civil suits even if the statute of limitations on their claims had previously expired. Older survivors now in their 60s or 70s are being given a chance to sue. Many of these survivors have carried the weight of what happened to them for most of their adult lives. This window is a recognition that trauma does not operate on a legal calendar, and that delayed disclosure is a well-documented reality of childhood sexual abuse.

For survivors who were abused more recently and whose claims are not yet time-barred, the amended statute also matters. For other survivors, the statute of limitations begins running when the survivor turns 18. Future claims must be filed by whichever date is later: either 35 years from the date of the abusive act (or age 53) or seven years from when the survivor first discovers or reasonably connects their adult injuries to the childhood abuse.

Do not wait to find out whether you qualify. The attorneys at Sommers Schwartz are ready to speak with you now, confidentially and without judgment.

How Sommers Schwartz Represents Rhode Island Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors

Sommers Schwartz is a multi-state law firm with attorneys who represent survivors of sexual assault and sexual abuse in Rhode Island civil courts. The firm handles claims against institutions, supervisors, and organizations, the exact defendants the 2026 lookback window was designed to reach.

Survivors who contact Sommers Schwartz can expect a compassionate, confidential conversation. No one will question why you waited. No one will ask you to justify your experience. Attorneys who handle these cases understand that coming forward is one of the hardest things a person can do, and they approach every client with that understanding.

The firm’s attorneys can evaluate whether your claim falls within the lookback window, identify all potentially responsible parties, and guide you through the civil litigation process from start to finish. Rhode Island law also allows survivors to file civil claims anonymously in some circumstances, which means you may be able to pursue justice without your name appearing in public court records. That option is worth discussing with an attorney before you make any decisions.

Sommers Schwartz handles cases involving abuse at religious institutions, schools, residential facilities, healthcare settings, and other organizations throughout Rhode Island, including communities in Providence, Cranston, Warwick, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Newport, and across the state. Whether your abuse involved a named clergy member from the Diocese of Providence, a staff member at a school or youth program, or another institutional setting, the firm is prepared to investigate your claim.

If you are ready to talk, or even if you are just trying to understand your options, contact a sexual assault attorney at Sommers Schwartz today. The consultation is free, confidential, and comes with no obligation. The window is open now. You do not have to face this alone.

FAQs About the Rhode Island Child Sexual Abuse Lookback Window

What is the Rhode Island child sexual abuse lookback window?

The lookback window is a two-year period created by H-7200a/S-2616a, signed by Governor Dan McKee on June 11, 2026, and effective July 1, 2026. It temporarily revives civil claims for childhood sexual abuse that were previously barred by Rhode Island’s statute of limitations. Survivors whose legal deadlines had already passed under prior law can use this window to file claims against perpetrators, institutions, and supervisors. All revived claims must be filed by June 30, 2028.

Can I sue the Diocese of Providence or another institution, not just the person who abused me?

Yes. That is one of the most important things this law does. Under H-7200a/S-2616a, claims can be brought against institutions and supervisors for conduct including negligent supervision, negligent hiring, negligent training or monitoring, failure to report abuse, and concealment of abuse. Before this law, the 2023 Rhode Island Supreme Court decision in Houllahan v. Gelineau blocked most survivors from suing institutions for previously expired claims. This law directly addresses that barrier.

What if I am older than 53? Can I still file under the lookback window?

The lookback window applies to claims that are time-barred under the prior statute of limitations, regardless of the survivor’s current age. The age-53 cutoff applies to the general, ongoing statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse claims under R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-51, not to the revival window itself. If your claim was previously time-barred and you file before June 30, 2028, the revival provision may apply to you. An attorney can review the specific facts of your situation and advise you on eligibility.

Do I have to prove exactly which incident of abuse caused my injuries?

No. Under the statute, a survivor does not need to establish which specific act in a series of continuing sexual abuse incidents caused the injury being claimed. If the abuse involved a pattern or common scheme by the same defendant, the survivor may calculate the discovery date from the last act that was part of that pattern. This is an important protection for survivors who experienced repeated abuse over months or years.

How do I get started if I want to file a claim before the window closes?

The first step is to speak with an attorney who handles Rhode Island childhood sexual abuse claims. At Sommers Schwartz, you can contact the firm for a free, confidential consultation with no obligation. An attorney will listen to what happened, explain how the law applies to your situation, and help you understand your options. Because building a case takes time, reaching out sooner gives your legal team the best opportunity to gather evidence, identify responsible parties, and file before the June 30, 2028 deadline.

More Resources About Rhode Island Sexual Abuse Resources

• Rhode Island Sexual Abuse Statute of Limitations (Annie’s Law, Houllahan, H-7200A)
• The Rhode Island Attorney General’s Clergy Abuse Report, Explained