Sexual Assault Attorneys in Illinois: Your Complete Legal Guide

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Illinois lets a survivor of childhood sexual abuse file a civil lawsuit at any time, but only when the claim had not already expired by January 1, 2014. Claims outside that rule follow a 20-year period that starts at age 18 or at the discovery of the injury, and adult survivors work under a 2-year personal injury deadline with two important exceptions. Below are those rules in the statutes’ own words, how the criminal track differs, what to raise with a lawyer, and five firms that represent survivors in Illinois.

If you are in danger right now, call 911. The National Sexual Assault Hotline is 800-656-4673.

Statutory language below was checked in October 2026 against the sources at the end. It explains Illinois law in general and is not advice about one person’s claim.

Childhood Abuse Claims: “At Any Time,” but Only for Claims Still Open on January 1, 2014

The governing statute is 735 ILCS 5/13-202.2. It defines “childhood sexual abuse” as sexual abuse that occurs while the person abused is under 18, and it ties “sexual abuse” to the definitions of sexual conduct and sexual penetration in Section 11-0.1 of the Criminal Code of 2012.

Subsection (f) is the headline rule. It provides that an action for damages based on childhood sexual abuse “may be commenced at any time.” The same sentence carries a condition: the change applies only if the action “would not have been time barred under any statute of limitations or statute of repose” before the amendment took effect. CHILD USA identifies that amendment as Public Act 98-276, effective January 1, 2014, and reads the section as containing no separate revival provision. In practice, a claim that was still alive on January 1, 2014 has no filing deadline, and a claim that had already expired before that date is not brought back by subsection (f).

Whether a pre-2014 claim was still alive depends on the version of the statute that governed it at the time. Section 13-202.2 has been amended repeatedly, and subsection (e) records that earlier amendments also applied only to claims not yet barred, so the expiry date of an older claim is a calculation that turns on birth date, abuse dates, and discovery.

The 20-year rule in subsection (b)

For claims that subsection (f) does not reach, subsection (b) allows 20 years from the date the limitation period begins to run, or 20 years from the date the survivor discovers or should discover both that the abuse occurred and that it caused the injury. Under subsection (d), the period does not begin before the survivor turns 18, and a survivor who is under another legal disability at 18 gets the later date on which that disability is removed.

The statute is explicit that knowing about the abuse is not the same as discovering the injury: “Knowledge of the abuse does not constitute discovery of the injury or the causal relationship between any later-discovered injury and the abuse.” A survivor who always remembered the abuse but connected it to depression, addiction, or another condition only years later may therefore have a discovery date long after the abuse itself.

Two further rules can move the clock. Subsection (c) provides that when the injury comes from a continuing series of acts by the same abuser, the discovery period runs from discovery of the last act in the series. Subsection (d-1) provides that the subsection (b) periods “do not run during a time period when the person abused is subject to threats, intimidation, manipulation, fraudulent concealment, or fraud perpetrated by the abuser or by any person acting in the interest of the abuser.”

Adult Survivors: Two Years Under Section 13-202, Unless a Qualifying Conviction or Intimidation Changes It

Section 13-202 sets the general deadline for “an injury to the person”: the action “shall be commenced within 2 years next after the cause of action accrued.” The section excludes damages resulting from first degree murder or the commission of a Class X felony when the perpetrator is convicted of that crime.

Section 13-202.1 removes the deadline entirely in a narrower set of cases. An action for damages “may be brought at any time” if it is based on conduct that constituted first degree murder, a Class X felony, or a Class 1 felony, and the person was convicted of that offense. Subsection (c) applies the rule regardless of when the conduct or conviction occurred and revives claims that older limitation periods had barred. Which sexual offenses carry a Class X or Class 1 classification is set by the Criminal Code; a lawyer can match the conviction in a given case to that list.

Section 13-202.3 adds a pause specific to sexual misconduct. For an injury caused by “sexual conduct” or “sexual penetration” as defined in Section 11-0.1, the 2-year period “does not run during a time period when the person injured is subject to threats, intimidation, manipulation, or fraud” by the perpetrator or by a person the perpetrator knew or should have known was acting in the perpetrator’s interest.

Read together, an adult survivor whose assailant was never convicted of a qualifying felony has 2 years from the date the claim accrued, extended by any period of threats or manipulation that the evidence can show. A conviction for a Class X or Class 1 felony removes the civil deadline.

When the Defendant Is a School, Diocese, Employer, or Public Body

Section 13-202.2 is written around the claim, “an action for damages based on childhood sexual abuse,” rather than around a particular defendant. Its pause in subsection (d-1) covers concealment or intimidation by “any person acting in the interest of the abuser,” language CHILD USA reads as reaching institutional conduct, not only the abuser’s own.

Whether a school, diocese, youth program, or employer is legally responsible for the abuse is a separate question from the deadline. It turns on Illinois negligence and agency law and on what the organization knew and did. When the organization is a public school district or another unit of local government, the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act is part of the analysis. This guide does not summarize that Act’s notice and timing rules, so they should be raised with a lawyer at the start.

The Criminal Track Runs on Its Own Deadlines

A criminal case is brought by prosecutors, not by the survivor, and its time limits sit in the Criminal Code rather than in the civil statutes above. Under 720 ILCS 5/3-6(j)(1), when the victim was under 18, a prosecution for criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault, predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, or felony criminal sexual abuse “may be commenced at any time.”

Outside the minor-victim rules in subsection (j), Section 3-6(i) provides that a prosecution for criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault, or aggravated criminal sexual abuse “may be commenced at any time.” The same subsection states that a victim’s consent to evidence collection with an Illinois State Police Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit “shall constitute reporting for purposes of this Section.”

Several related offenses keep a deadline:

  • Misdemeanor criminal sexual abuse of a minor: within 10 years after the victim turns 18 (Section 3-6(j)(3)).
  • Child pornography, indecent solicitation of a child, exploitation of a child, and related offenses: within one year after the victim turns 18, and never less than 3 years after the offense (Section 3-6(d)).
  • Offenses by someone in a professional or fiduciary relationship with the victim: within one year after the victim discovers the offense, except where subsection (j) applies (Section 3-6(e)).

CHILD USA reports that the Illinois General Assembly’s website prints Section 3-6 in three versions, from Public Acts 103-1071, 104-241, and 104-245, which differ in a new trafficking provision, § 3-6(b-5)(2), and in some offense names in § 3-6(d). A lawyer should confirm which version governs a given charge.

The two tracks meet at one point in the civil statutes: a conviction for a Class X or Class 1 felony removes the civil deadline under Section 13-202.1. Otherwise the civil periods run on their own triggers whether or not a prosecution is brought.

What to Settle in a First Meeting With an Illinois Lawyer

Bringing a few dates to the first conversation lets a lawyer identify the governing rule quickly: date of birth, the approximate dates of the abuse, and when the connection between the abuse and any injury or condition became clear. With those in hand, these questions are worth asking:

  1. Does subsection (f) of Section 13-202.2 apply, or was the claim already time-barred before January 1, 2014 under the law then in force?
  2. If subsection (b) governs, what is the discovery date, and what evidence supports it?
  3. Was there a period of threats, intimidation, manipulation, or concealment that pauses the clock under subsection (d-1) or Section 13-202.3, and what documents or witnesses show it?
  4. Has anyone been convicted, and is the offense a Class X or Class 1 felony for purposes of Section 13-202.1?
  5. Is any potential defendant a public body, and what does that change?
  6. Does the firm represent dioceses, school districts, employers, or their insurers in other matters?
  7. What percentage does the contingency fee take, how are case costs handled if there is no recovery, and who handles the file day to day?
  8. How will your name appear in court filings, and what options exist to limit public identification?

Top 5 Sexual Assault Attorneys in Illinois

1. Taxman, Pollock, Murray & Bekkerman, LLC

Taxman, Pollock, Murray & Bekkerman is a Chicago firm with a dedicated sexual abuse practice that has secured over $500 million on behalf of clients. The firm handles sexual abuse and assault civil claims for survivors against individual abusers and institutions including schools, churches, and employers. Attorneys provide full legal support throughout each step of the case and keep client identities anonymous when desired. The firm represents clients, not insurance companies or corporations, with an exclusive commitment to plaintiff-side work. Board-certified trial attorneys. Free, 100 percent confidential consultations. Contingency fee basis.

2. The Mahoney Law Firm

  • Phone: (618) 961-8288
  • Website: https://themahoneylawfirm.com
  • Address: Serves statewide Illinois including Alton, Belleville, Chicago, Collinsville, Decatur, Edwardsville, Fairview Heights, Granite City, Highland Park, O’Fallon, Springfield, and Troy
  • Attorney: Ryan Mahoney

The Mahoney Law Firm focuses exclusively on sexual assault civil claims and Title IX cases in Illinois. The firm handles school sexual assault cases, hotel and travel sexual assault, workplace sexual assault, prison sexual assault, and clergy sexual assault, in addition to general civil claims against perpetrators and institutions. Illinois law provides no SOL for conviction-linked cases, and Mahoney noted that survivors facing convictions of their abusers have no civil deadline. The firm handles both civil claims and Title IX violation cases from a single practice. Free consultations. Contingency fee basis.

3. Spiros Law

Spiros Law is a central and downstate Illinois firm with sexual assault and abuse practice serving survivors in workplace, institutional, school, university campus, and business-setting cases. The firm secured a $5,000,000 sexual assault settlement for a survivor and as part of the resolution obtained key policy changes at the client’s place of work to protect others in the future. Attorneys pursue civil claims against both the assailant and any institution that failed to maintain a safe environment. Free consultation. Bilingual: Spanish-language consultation available. Contingency fee basis.

4. Susan E. Loggans & Associates

  • Phone: See website
  • Website: https://logganslaw.com
  • Address: Chicago, Illinois
  • Attorney: Susan E. Loggans and team

Susan E. Loggans & Associates is a Chicago personal injury firm with an active sexual misconduct practice. The firm pursues civil claims against individual perpetrators and against organizations, businesses, and employers whose negligence or wrongful acts contributed to the abuse. Susan Loggans has extensive experience representing victims of wrongful sexual behavior and is recognized as a leading Chicago attorney. The firm handles cases involving churches, police misconduct, workplace harassment, and other institutional settings. Free consultations. Contingency fee basis.

5. Levy Konigsberg LLP

Levy Konigsberg LLP is a national sexual abuse litigation firm with an Illinois practice focused on claims against institutions of trust including Catholic dioceses, prisons, schools, and juvenile detention centers. The firm has extensive experience litigating claims against individuals and entities across the country. Following the Illinois Attorney General’s 2023 report on Catholic diocese sexual abuse, the firm is active in representing survivors with claims against all six Illinois Roman Catholic dioceses, including the Archdiocese of Chicago. Works on contingency with no cost to hire and no fee unless the firm wins. Free case reviews at (800) 315-3806.

Frequently Asked Questions

I was abused as a child decades ago. Has my deadline passed?

Not necessarily. If the claim was still open on January 1, 2014, subsection (f) of Section 13-202.2 removes the deadline. If it had already expired under the law in force before that date, subsection (f) does not revive it. Because the discovery period under subsection (b) starts only when a survivor knows both that the abuse occurred and that it caused the injury, a claim that looks old on the calendar may not have expired.

I was assaulted as an adult and no one was charged. How long do I have?

Section 13-202 sets 2 years from the date the cause of action accrued. Section 13-202.3 stops that clock during any period of threats, intimidation, manipulation, or fraud by the perpetrator or someone acting in the perpetrator’s interest. The no-deadline rule in Section 13-202.1 requires a conviction for first degree murder, a Class X felony, or a Class 1 felony, so it does not apply where no one was convicted.

Does a criminal case have to happen before I can sue?

No. The civil periods in Sections 13-202 and 13-202.2 run on their own triggers. A conviction matters to the civil deadline only under Section 13-202.1, where a qualifying felony conviction removes it.

Can I sue the organization where the abuse happened, not only the abuser?

The childhood statute is framed around the claim rather than a specific defendant, and its tolling rule covers conduct by anyone acting in the abuser’s interest. Whether a school, church, or employer is liable depends on what it knew and did and on Illinois negligence and agency law; a public body adds the Tort Immunity Act to the analysis.

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