RI House passes bill to allow victims of childhood sex abuse to sue people, institutions that did not protect them

Providence Journal

June 17, 2025

By Katherine Gregg

PROVIDENCE – Victims of childhood sexual abuse by priests and others in their Rhode Island world have scored a victory.

The R.I. House of Representatives voted 67 to 5 along party lines on Monday, June 16 to allow these victims to file civil suits, seeking damages, from people and institutions that neglected to stop the abuse they suffered as children, concealed it or transferred known offenders from one location to another.

Republican Rep. Brian Newberry raised the only arguments against the bill. He said it would open Rhode Island to the potential loss of insurance companies, no longer willing to write policies in states willing to "revive" decades old claims.

"I know this is a highly emotional issue for a lot of people and I understand why people vote for it, but it doesn't make it a good,'' said Newberry, a lawyer. "No one's going to walk out of California or New York or Texas or Florida. But they'll walk out of Rhode Island."

The legislation now moves to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain fate in the closing days of the 2025 legislative session, in the face of strong opposition from the Catholic Church.

In response to a Journal inquiry, Senate spokesman Greg Pare said: "The Senate Committee is continuing its work to find answers to unresolved questions raised during the committee hearing and reviewing the cases in states whose Supreme Courts overturned their respective statutes.

"The committee will continue working with stakeholders to address the committee members’ concerns, including that the bill could call into question past judgements by the courts and that the retroactivity could potentially be unconstitutional."

The House vote was nevertheless hailed as a victory by the group of victims that has come to the State House year after year to ask lawmakers to open the door to lawsuits for damages.

Rep. Carol McEntee's sister, Ann Webb, 72, was among the first to go public with what her family's parish priest did to her over a seven-year period that began when she was in kindergarten at the Sacred Heart elementary school in West Warwick.

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