Sexual Assault Attorneys in Massachusetts: Your Complete Legal Guide

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Massachusetts gives a survivor of sexual abuse as a minor 35 years, counted from age 18, or seven years from discovering that an emotional or psychological injury was caused by the abuse, whichever is later. The same periods apply to a school, church, or employer accused of negligent supervision. A person assaulted as an adult has three years. On the criminal side, rape of a child and indecent assault on a child under 14 have no time limit, but rape charged under chapter 265, § 22 carries fifteen years. Below are those rules from the General Laws, the 2014 retroactivity question, and four firms that represent survivors in Massachusetts.

If you are not safe, call 911. Jane Doe Inc. lists the 24/7 multilingual SafeLink hotline at 1-877-785-2020, and the National Sexual Assault Hotline is 1-800-656-4673.

The General Laws text below is quoted from CHILD USA’s analysis, which reports reading the General Court’s official text on September 5, 2026; the adult periods in chapter 260, §§ 2A and 4 are from FindLaw’s text dated January 1, 2025. This page offers general information about Massachusetts law and does not evaluate any particular claim.

Against the Abuser: 35 Years From 18, or Seven From Discovery

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 4C provides: “Actions of tort alleging the defendant sexually abused a minor shall be commenced within 35 years of the acts alleged to have caused an injury or condition or within 7 years of the time the victim discovered or reasonably should have discovered that an emotional or psychological injury or condition was caused by said act, whichever period expires later; provided, however, that the time limit for commencement of an action under this section is tolled for a child until the child reaches eighteen years of age.”

With the pause until 18, the 35-year period ends on the 53rd birthday. The seven-year discovery period can run past that date.

Against an Institution: The Same Periods

Section 4C½ applies to “[a]n action of tort alleging that the defendant negligently supervised a person who sexually abused a minor or that the defendant’s conduct caused or contributed to the sexual abuse of a minor by another person.” It must be brought within the later of 35 years of the acts or seven years of discovery, with the same pause until 18.

CHILD USA notes that Massachusetts enacted § 4C½ in the same 2014 Act so that institutions would have the same clock as the abuser, unlike states that give institutional defendants a shorter period or a higher standard of proof.

“Sexual abuse” in § 4C covers acts against a minor set out in listed sections of chapters 265 and 272, including rape, rape of a child, and indecent assault and battery.

The 2014 Act and Older Claims

St. 2014, c. 145 took effect June 26, 2014. In Dupuis v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland (Maine, 2025), as CHILD USA quotes it, the Maine court described the Massachusetts decision Sliney v. Previte, 473 Mass. 283 (2015), as “following Keene in holding that a statute retroactively reviving expired claims of sexual abuse of minors did not violate due process.” The scope and dates of the 2014 Act’s retroactivity clause are not quoted here, so a survivor whose claim may have expired before June 2014 should have a lawyer read the clause against the dates of the abuse.

Assaults After Age 18

Sections 4C and 4C½ apply to abuse of minors. For an adult, chapter 260 sets three years on two routes: § 2A provides that “actions of tort, actions of contract to recover for personal injuries, and actions of replevin, shall be commenced only within three years next after the cause of action accrues,” and § 4 applies the same three years to “actions for assault and battery.” The text quoted here is the FindLaw version dated January 1, 2025. An adult survivor should have a lawyer confirm the period and its starting date soon after the assault.

Criminal Deadlines Under Chapter 277, § 63

Prosecution is the state’s decision. CHILD USA reports:

  • No limit, with a condition (§ 63): offenses including indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 (ch. 265, § 13B), aggravated rape (§§ 22A to 22D), and rape and abuse of a child (§ 23) may be charged “at any time,” but a charge filed more than 27 years after the offense “shall be supported by independent evidence that corroborates the victim’s allegation,” which “shall not consist exclusively of the opinions of mental health professionals.”
  • Fifteen years (§ 63): rape under ch. 265, § 22 and assault with intent to commit rape under § 24.
  • Ten years (§ 63): a further group of listed offenses.
  • Six years (§ 63): any other crime.
  • Victims under 16 (§ 63): for listed offenses, including rape and indecent assault, the period “shall not commence until the victim has reached the age of 16 or the violation is reported to a law enforcement agency, whichever occurs earlier.”

A civil claim does not depend on any prosecution.

What to Ask a Massachusetts Lawyer

For childhood abuse, both the 53rd birthday and the discovery date matter, and they apply equally to the abuser and to an organization. Bring the survivor’s date of birth, the dates of the abuse, when an emotional or psychological injury was linked to it, and the names of the people and organizations involved. Questions for the lawyer:

  1. When does the 35-year period end, and when did discovery occur under § 4C?
  2. Does a claim against a school, church, or employer fit § 4C½?
  3. If the claim may have expired before June 26, 2014, how does the 2014 Act’s retroactivity clause apply?
  4. For an adult assault, which chapter 260 period applies?
  5. Does the firm represent the Archdiocese of Boston, a hospital, or an insurer that may be a defendant?

Massachusetts Sexual Assault Attorneys

Lubin & Meyer PC

Lubin & Meyer is recognized as New England’s premier medical malpractice and personal injury law firm and has handled significant sexual abuse and assault civil litigation for decades. The firm is led by founding partner Andrew C. Meyer Jr. (Suffolk Law 1974), who has been named one of Boston Magazine’s 150 Most Influential Bostonians, inducted into the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Hall of Fame, selected to Best Lawyers in America for 30 consecutive years, and listed in Super Lawyers annually since 2004. Meyer was named Boston’s Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in 2011. He holds the highest rating from Martindale-Hubbell for both legal ability and ethical standards and has secured one of the largest personal injury awards in Massachusetts history – $30 million including interest in a birth injury case.

In sexual abuse litigation, Lubin & Meyer currently represents over 180 clients in a class-action lawsuit against a former Boston rheumatologist accused of conducting medically unnecessary sexual examinations on patients. Lead attorney William Thompson leads this action alongside the supervisors and institutions that allegedly enabled the abuse. Partner Adam Satin has generated nearly $300 million in gross verdicts and settlements for clients, was named Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Lawyer of the Year, and was selected for Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers annually. The firm has obtained the largest verdicts and settlements list in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly for 16 consecutive years.

Lubin & Meyer represents survivors statewide in Massachusetts and also in New Hampshire and Rhode Island, and handles cases on a contingency fee basis. Free case evaluation with no obligation.

Brody, Hardoon, Perkins & Kesten, LLP (BHPK Law)

BHPK Law is one of Boston’s leading litigation firms with deep expertise in child sexual abuse and sexual assault civil litigation. The firm is led by founding partner Laurence E. Hardoon, who over the past 40 years has represented hundreds of survivors who were victimized by priests, teachers, counselors, child-care workers, doctors, employers, and family members. Hardoon pioneered the legal actions brought against the Catholic Church arising from the Boston clergy abuse scandal and is considered one of the most influential plaintiff attorneys in the Commonwealth. Before founding BHPK, he served for 14 years as an Assistant District Attorney and Senior Prosecutor in the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, where he founded and directed the District Attorney’s Child Abuse Prosecution Unit – a program that became a nationally recognized model. He also helped establish the first Children’s Advocacy Center in Middlesex County.

Partner Michael V. Glennon is a former Chief of the Juvenile Unit at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, where he spent over a decade handling sexual assault, human trafficking, child pornography, and gang crime investigations. He now practices civil sexual assault and sex trafficking litigation at BHPK and is an adjunct faculty member at Suffolk University Law School.

The BHPK sexual abuse team – including attorneys Nina M. Bonelli, Erica L. Brody, Richard E. Brody, Glennon, and Hardoon – has brought precedent-setting cases against the Archdiocese, child care centers, hospitals, day care facilities, private schools, teachers, doctors, foster parents, and therapists. Multiple team members are former sex crimes prosecutors who understand the re-traumatization that comes with disclosure and work closely with survivors’ therapists throughout the litigation process. Rick Brody, Larry Hardoon, and Erica Brody are recognized annually as Super Lawyers. Free confidential consultations. Contingency fee basis.

Levy Konigsberg LLP (Massachusetts Practice)

Levy Konigsberg is a national trial firm that has recovered over $3 billion in compensation for sexual abuse survivors. The firm actively represents Massachusetts survivors of institutional sexual abuse including clergy abuse, abuse in schools and youth programs, physician abuse at hospitals and medical systems, and abuse in juvenile detention facilities. The firm’s Massachusetts practice covers all types of institutional negligence claims and evaluates both fresh claims and claims that may be revivable under the discovery provisions of MGL ch. 260, Section 4C. Cases are handled on contingency with no cost to hire and no fee unless compensation is recovered. Free confidential consultations.

Altman & Altman, LLP

Altman & Altman is a Boston and Cambridge civil litigation firm that has represented thousands of individuals in sexual assault and abuse civil claims, recovering millions in settlements and jury awards. The firm handles both direct claims against perpetrators and third-party negligence claims against employers, property owners, and institutions. Altman & Altman has access to medical and psychological expert professionals throughout the Commonwealth and provides support to clients throughout the legal process. Available 24/7. Free consultation. Contingency fee basis.

Frequently Asked Questions

I am 58 and only recently connected my depression to abuse I suffered as a child. Is it too late?

Possibly not. Under § 4C, a claim may be brought within seven years of when you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, that an emotional or psychological injury was caused by the abuse, even after the 35-year period ends.

Is the deadline shorter for suing the church or school?

No. Section 4C½ applies the same 35-year and seven-year periods to negligent supervision claims.

Can a child rape from 30 years ago still be prosecuted?

Rape and abuse of a child under ch. 265, § 23 has no limit, but a charge filed more than 27 years after the offense must be supported by independent corroborating evidence. Rape charged under § 22 has fifteen years, with the clock paused until 16 for younger victims.

Does Massachusetts have a revival window?

No dated window has opened. The 2014 Act applied the new periods to some older claims, and Sliney v. Previte (2015) upheld that, as the Maine court described it in 2025.

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