Sex abuse claims in the Catholic Church in California

California has been at the forefront of clergy-abuse reform. AB 218 (2019, effective January 1, 2020) created a three-year lookback window that ran from 2020 through 2022 and generated thousands of claims against California dioceses; it also extended the deadline for childhood claims to the later of the survivor's 40th birthday or five years from discovering the connection between the injury and the abuse. A later reform, AB 452, eliminated the statute of limitations entirely for childhood sexual abuse occurring on or after January 1, 2024.

For childhood clergy-abuse claims today, the key deadline is the later of the survivor's 40th birthday or five years from the date the survivor discovers the connection between their injury and the abuse (for abuse before January 1, 2024). This discovery rule has been critical for survivors whose trauma-related psychological injuries delayed recognition of the abuse's impact. The AB 218 lookback window that briefly revived expired childhood claims closed on December 31, 2022; survivors abused as minors now rely on this discovery-rule deadline rather than a lookback window.

Multiple California dioceses are in active bankruptcy proceedings. The Diocese of Fresno filed in mid-2025; survivors with Fresno Diocese claims should contact an attorney about the proof-of-claim bar date. The Diocese of San Diego is also in active bankruptcy with approximately 400 consolidated lawsuits. In bankruptcy, survivors file proofs of claim rather than civil complaints — missing the bar date can forfeit recovery rights, though the court may allow a late claim in limited circumstances; an attorney can check.

California survivors can seek support through the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA) at (916) 446-2520, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), and the National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN) at 1-800-656-4673. The California Attorney General's Office maintains a clergy abuse reporting portal. CHILD USA (childusa.org) tracks California legislative developments and the status of the state's revival windows.

A separate revival window applies to survivors abused as adults. California's AB 250, effective January 1, 2026, reopened previously time-barred civil claims for sexual assault suffered on or after the survivor's 18th birthday — including abuse in church, workplace, or other institutional settings run by private organizations. Revived adult claims must be filed between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2027, and can reach the private institutions that concealed or enabled the abuse as well as the individual perpetrator (public entities are excluded). Survivors abused as adults in a California parish or religious organization should ask about AB 250 before the window closes.