Child Sexual Abuse

Rhode Island Child Sexual Abuse Claims: The Law Has Passed — Your Time to Act Is Now

After years of advocacy by survivors and legislative effort, Rhode Island has joined many other states and enacted landmark legislation(opens in new tab) that opens litigation opportunities to victims of childhood sexual abuse whose claims were extinguished long before they had any ability to pursue a claim. Under the new law, survivors may now bring civil claims against the Diocese of Providence and other institutions that were aware of — and negligently failed to act, actively concealed, or otherwise affirmatively enabled — abuse committed against children in their care.

The new law comes on the heels of Attorney General Peter Neronha’s March 2026 report(opens in new tab), which revealed decades of institutional concealment within the Diocese of Providence affecting hundreds of children across Rhode Island. The report documented a pattern of suppressing evidence, ‘handling’ criminal investigations, and reassigning accused clergy to new parishes — where abuse continued.

For survivors whose claims had long been blocked by the statute of limitations — many of whom are now in their 60s and 70s — the legislation creates a two-year window that starts on July 1, 2026(opens in new tab), to seek accountability through Rhode Island courts. Survivors who wish to bring claims must act within this limited period — once it closes on June 30, 2028, these claims will be barred once again.

Proven Advocates for Rhode Island Child Sex Abuse Survivors

Your first call for a claim under Rhode Island’s amended child sexual abuse statute can be a call home. DarrowEverett’s home office is in Providence. We have lived in Providence — and in East Providence, Warren, and Barrington. Some of us have lived out “in the counties” — areas all over the state that Rhode Islanders know — Narragansett, North Kingstown, East Greenwich, Tiverton, Warwick, and Coventry.

And our Rhode Island attorneys have been here and done that with child abuse claims for decades. For example, Tim Conlon(opens in new tab), Chair of the Private Client Group at DarrowEverett LLP, has devoted years of his career to fighting for victims of institutional abuse. He shut down an institution in 1984, battled prestigious Washington, D.C. lawyers over sexual abuse in child-care facilities in the 1990s, and won a Case of the Year award issued by the Rhode Island Association For Justice for litigation against the Diocese of Providence in 2003. In 2022, he won Lawyer of the Year from Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly for his work exposing abuse of students in North Kingstown. Tim has tracked this legislation from its earliest drafts, reviewed dozens of iterations over the years, and made countless trips to the statehouse to advocate for its passage.

But we are team: Evan Gotlob(opens in new tab), the Chair of our White Collar Crime, Government Investigations & Criminal Defense Practice Group, has spent more than 14 years as a New York City and federal prosecutor handling a variety of sexual assault and misconduct cases. During his time as an Assistant United States Attorney in Boston, Evan was the lead federal prosecutor on numerous human trafficking and sexual assault cases for more than four years, obtaining convictions of some of the most violent and dangerous human traffickers on the East Coast. Laura Nicholson(opens in new tab) spent over 12 years as an Assistant Attorney General in our state’s Child Abuse and Sex Offender units, putting pedophiles in Rhode Island behind bars. She has helped victims of child abuse, child molestation, and sexual assault from immediate to delayed disclosures, from grand jury to trial. As Chief of the Kent County Attorney General’s Office, she led investigations and helped victims take back their voice and seek justice.

The DarrowEverett team also includes Brooklin Eleoff(opens in new tab), whose experience includes spending more than a decade as a staff attorney with Rhode Island Legal Services (RILS), the state’s largest nonprofit provider of civil legal aid. While there, Eleoff served as family court-appointed counsel to hundreds of the state’s most vulnerable individuals. Julia Nasiek(opens in new tab) has experience with an assorted caseload ranging from civil disputes advocating for sexual abuse victims to complex divorce and custody disputes. Since the start of her career, she has represented victims of sexual abuse in litigation against institutions, including schools, coaches, and employers. Known for her steady presence and compassionate approach, Julia combines empathy with tenacious advocacy to guide clients through difficult moments.

Our team’s combination of deep subject-matter experience, legislative knowledge, and compassion for survivors makes the DarrowEverett team prepared to act immediately and guide victims through the claims process — and to do so within the critical two-year window the law provides.

Contact Us

If you or someone you know suffered sexual abuse as a child at the hands of clergy or within an institution that failed to protect you, we are here to listen. The decision to pursue a legal claim is a deeply personal one, and we respect wherever you are in that process.

But time is limited. The two-year window will not stay open indefinitely, and building a strong case takes preparation. We encourage you to reach out as soon as you are ready — even if only to ask questions. Please contact Tim Conlon and the team at DarrowEverett LLP.