Sexual Assault Attorneys in Maine: Your Complete Legal Guide

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Maine has allowed claims based on sexual acts toward minors to be brought “at any time” since August 2000, but only for claims that had not already expired by then. A 2021 attempt to revive older claims was held unconstitutional by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in January 2025. Adult survivors work under Maine’s general six-year limitation period. Below are those rules from the Maine Revised Statutes, the criminal deadlines, questions for a lawyer, and four firms that represent survivors in Maine.

Anyone in danger should call 911. The Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault runs a 24/7 toll-free sexual assault helpline at 1-800-871-7741, and the National Sexual Assault Hotline is 1-800-656-4673.

The Title 14 sections below were read on the Maine Legislature’s official statutes site in October 2026; the court decision and criminal statute come from CHILD USA’s review. The page describes Maine law and is not an evaluation of any claim.

Sexual Acts Toward Minors: No Limitation, for Claims Alive in 2000

14 M.R.S. § 752-C(1), headed “No limitation,” provides: “Actions based upon sexual acts toward minors may be commenced at any time.” Under § 752-C(2), as rewritten in 2023, “sexual acts toward minors” means acts against a person under the age of majority amounting to gross sexual assault, sexual abuse of a minor, unlawful sexual contact, unlawful sexual touching, sexual exploitation of a minor, or incest, as described in Title 17-A.

The elimination dates from P.L. 1999, ch. 639, effective August 11, 2000. CHILD USA, drawing on the Law Court’s history in Dupuis, reports that Maine had a six-year period for these claims from 1985, extended it to twelve years in 1991, and eliminated it in 2000, and that both changes applied only to claims not yet barred on their effective dates. Whether an older claim survived depends on whether it was still timely when the next change took effect.

The 2021 Revival and Dupuis v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland

In 2021 the Legislature added § 752-C(3), applying the section “regardless of whether the statute of limitations on such actions expired prior to the effective date of this subsection.” In Dupuis v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland, 2025 ME 6, decided January 28, 2025, the Law Court held, as CHILD USA quotes it: “Once a statute of limitations has expired for a claim, a right to be free of that claim has vested, and the claim cannot be revived. For the reasons given above, section 752-C(3) is unconstitutional as applied to expired claims.” The vote was 5 to 2.

A claim that had already expired before the “at any time” rule reached it therefore cannot be revived under subsection (3).

Adult Survivors: Six Years

For assaults on adults, 14 M.R.S. § 752 sets the general period: “All civil actions shall be commenced within 6 years after the cause of action accrues and not afterwards, except … as otherwise specially provided.” The two-year section that follows it, § 753, now covers only “Actions for slander and libel.”

Claims Against Organizations

Section 752-C is written around “Actions based upon sexual acts toward minors” rather than around a particular defendant. Whether a school, church, camp, or employer is liable depends on Maine negligence law and on what it knew and did. Claims against a governmental entity can involve the Maine Tort Claims Act’s notice and filing rules, which this guide does not set out and which should be checked early.

Criminal Deadlines Under 17-A M.R.S. § 8

Prosecution is the state’s decision. CHILD USA quotes § 8(1)(B), which allows a prosecution at any time “[i]f the victim had not attained the age of 18 years at the time of the crime, a prosecution for incest; unlawful sexual contact; sexual abuse of a minor; rape or gross sexual assault, formerly denominated as gross sexual misconduct; unlawful sexual touching; or sexual exploitation of a minor.”

Section 8(2-A) sets twenty years for “a Class A, Class B or Class C crime involving unlawful sexual contact or gross sexual assault or a prosecution for a Class A or Class B crime involving aggravated sex trafficking.” Other Class A, B, and C crimes carry six years and Class D and E crimes three years under § 8(2). The civil rules above do not depend on any prosecution.

Facts a Maine Lawyer Will Need

The decisive date for a childhood claim is when it would have expired under the law in force before August 11, 2000. Bring the survivor’s date of birth, the dates of the abuse, and the names of the people and organizations involved. A lawyer can then address:

  1. Was the claim still timely on August 11, 2000, so that § 752-C(1) removes the deadline?
  2. If not, is there any route after Dupuis, given that § 752-C(3) cannot revive expired claims?
  3. For an adult assault, when did the six-year period under § 752 begin?
  4. Is any defendant a governmental entity subject to the Maine Tort Claims Act?
  5. Does the firm represent the Diocese of Portland, a school, or an insurer that may be a defendant, and what will fees and costs be?

Maine Sexual Assault Attorneys

Berman & Simmons

Berman & Simmons is the only law firm in Maine with a dedicated practice group exclusively representing survivors of sexual abuse. The firm pioneered trauma-informed lawyering in Maine – every attorney and staff member on the sexual abuse team has completed specialized trauma-informed training to help survivors navigate the legal process. The firm has achieved more million-dollar verdicts and settlements for survivors of sex abuse than any other firm in Maine and has recovered over $1.5 billion across all plaintiff practice areas over more than a century of operation.

The sexual abuse practice group is led by attorney Michael Bigos and includes shareholders Susan A. Faunce (Managing Director, President of the Maine State Bar Association), Travis M. Brennan, Timothy M. Kenlan, Elizabeth A. Kayatta, Charles P. Hehmeyer, and Christopher C. Boots. The firm has pursued justice for survivors of clergy abuse (including extensive litigation against the Catholic Church in Maine), youth sports abuse, school abuse, summer camp abuse, and institutional abuse in healthcare and corrections settings. Berman & Simmons also has experience pursuing claims against deceased perpetrators through their estates and against institutional defendants in complex multi-party litigation. The firm works on a contingency fee basis – no payment unless compensation is recovered. Free, confidential consultations are available statewide.

Garmey Law

Garmey Law is a Portland-based plaintiff trial firm with a dedicated sexual abuse and assault practice. Founding partner Terry Garmey has more than 40 years of plaintiff trial experience and has earned more 7-figure verdicts than any other attorney in Maine. He was the first Maine lawyer invited to the Inner Circle of Advocates – a national organization of the top 100 plaintiff trial attorneys in the country – and is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has been repeatedly named Personal Injury Litigator of the Year for Portland, Maine by Best Lawyers and received the Legends Award from the Maine Trial Lawyers Association in 2018.

The firm’s sexual abuse practice is handled by Terry Garmey and attorneys Ali (Alexis) Garmey Chardon, David Kreisler, Christopher Harmon, and others. Documented results include a $700,000 jury verdict for three young women groped by a school security guard, confidential settlements against the Catholic Church for clergy abuse survivors, and a confidential settlement against a summer camp for a minor sexually abused by other campers. Notable former Garmey Law attorney Christian Foster (now at CFoster Law, PLLC) obtained a $595,000 verdict for a client harmed by a partner’s physical and verbal abuse while at Garmey Law.

Garmey Law pursues claims directly against perpetrators as well as against institutions – churches, schools, hospitals, employers – that enabled the abuse. Cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, with all litigation costs fronted by the firm. Free confidential consultations are available.

CFoster Law, PLLC

CFoster Law is a Portland trial firm led by attorney Christian Foster, who graduated with honors from the University of Maine School of Law in 2000 and has more than 22 years of courtroom experience throughout Maine, from Kittery to Caribou. Foster is a Top 100 Trial Lawyer recognized by The National Trial Lawyers, serves on the Board of Governors of the Maine Trial Lawyers Association, is a peer reviewer for the American Association of Justice, and is a member of the Edward Thaxter Gignoux Inn of Courts. He is admitted to practice in Maine, Massachusetts, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

The firm handles civil claims for sexual abuse and assault survivors, including cases involving institutional negligence by employers, schools, summer camps, and other organizations. Foster has obtained seven-figure verdicts and settlements throughout Maine, including a $595,000 verdict on behalf of a survivor of relationship abuse and a confidential settlement against a summer camp for a minor sexually abused by fellow campers. The firm pursues both direct claims against perpetrators and negligence claims against third-party institutions. Free consultations are available and cases are handled on a contingency fee basis.

Levy Konigsberg LLP (Maine Practice)

Levy Konigsberg is a nationally recognized trial firm that has recovered over $3 billion in sexual abuse compensation for survivors nationwide. The firm maintains an active Maine practice and has represented survivors of clergy abuse at the Portland Roman Catholic Diocese, survivors abused in Maine youth detention facilities, survivors abused at summer camps along Maine’s lakes and coast, and survivors of abuse in school settings throughout the state. Levy Konigsberg has reviewed and pursued claims arising from historic abuse at institutions including the Freeport-area Pine Tree Academy and has represented former inmates who were sexually abused at Maine youth correctional facilities.

The firm has extensive experience with Maine’s 2021 civil SOL reform and can evaluate whether previously time-barred claims are now revivable under the retroactive provision of 14 M.R.S. § 752-C. Levy Konigsberg takes cases on a contingency fee basis, with no cost unless compensation is recovered. Free, confidential consultations are available.

Frequently Asked Questions

I was abused as a child in Maine in 1982. Does “at any time” apply to me?

Only if your claim was still timely when the law changed. The 2000 elimination and the 1991 extension each applied only to claims not yet barred, and the Law Court held in Dupuis (2025) that the 2021 revival cannot be applied to claims that had already expired.

Is there a deadline if the abuse happened after 2000?

For sexual acts toward a minor listed in § 752-C(2), § 752-C(1) allows the action at any time.

I was assaulted as an adult. How long do I have?

The general rule in 14 M.R.S. § 752 is six years after the cause of action accrues.

Is there a special no-deadline rule for abuse by a teacher, employer, or therapist?

Not in the section sometimes cited for it. The official text of 14 M.R.S. § 752-F concerns harm from PFAS chemicals, not sexual abuse. The no-limitation rule in § 752-C applies to sexual acts toward minors.

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