Sexual Abuse Attorney in New York

What You Should Do If You Are a Victim of Sexual Abuse

First, start off by making sure you — or your loved one — are safe.

If your child is a victim of sexual abuse, you will want to remove him or her away from the location and situation where you believe the sexual abuse is occurring, such as:

Religious Institutions

Unfortunately, some religious leaders wrongly use their influence and the trust given to them to take advantage of children within their congregation. Because of their position in society, priests, ministers, rabbis, teachers, clergy, and other religious leaders are often trusted with the care and supervision of young members.

It is under these conditions which many children are “groomed.”

Oftentimes, families are unaware of the abuse and openly welcome the religious leader to spend time with their child, at times on a one-to-one basis.

• Inappropriate touching, contact, or fondling of children
• Drug/alcohol-facilitated assault
• Forcing children to undress
• Sexual harassment
• Unwanted sexual advances
• Forced sexual acts
• Coerced sexual acts
• Rape or attempted rape
• Exposure of private parts to a victim
• Taking sexualized pictures of a child
• Sexual harassment and threats
• Showing children pornography

If you know or suspect any sexual abuse between a family member or child and a clergy member, you must report it to the proper authorities.

Schools or Academies

The demographic group of victims of school employee sexual misconduct or abuse can vary greatly. However, several studies have shown that low-income female high school students are most likely to experience sexual abuse by a school employee.

As parents, it is important that we notice any unusual behavior in our children, including:

• Nightmares or sleeping problems
• Loss of appetite
• Mood swings
• Withdrawal
• Unusual fear of a certain person or place
• Dislikes physical contact
• Draws, writes or talks about adult sexual behaviors

Teens and adolescents may exhibit other out-of-character behaviors such as:

• Running away
• Becoming sexually promiscuous
• Using drugs or alcohol
• Appetite issues (excessive eating or dieting)
• Psychological issues (anxiety or depression)

Recognizing these cues can help parents or guardians to uncover the sexual abuse that is occurring. If you believe that your child is the survivor of abuse, it is important to:

• Maintain your composure and do NOT overreact
• Do NOT blame the victim for the abuse
• Do NOT demand details
• Do NOT minimize their experience
• Listen calmly and attentively to understand the full story
• Seek out medical care
• Notify law enforcement and the appropriate child services
• Seek assistance from trained professionals (i.e. psychologist/psychiatrist)

If you or a loved one has fallen victim to a sexual predator, call us right now at (212) 779-0057 to schedule a FREE consultation.

Foster Care

Tragically, children in foster care are often the victims of sex abuse. Sometimes, the very individuals entrusted with caring for and raising a child are the ones who perpetrate heinous acts of child sex abuse against them. Legally speaking, no one is capable of consenting to sexual acts until they reach a certain age, which in New York is 17.

Some of the most common types of child sex abuse that occur in foster care include:

• Rape
• Attempted rape
• Kissing
• Groping
• Digital penetration
• Indecent exposure to a child
• Producing child pornography and forcing a child to participate in sex acts
• Child sex trafficking

When a child goes to live with foster parents, it is usually because of parental neglect and abandonment, parental drug abuse or incarceration, or the loss of the child’s biological parents. While many foster parents provide a loving, supportive environment for children in need, some use the system – which is frequently underfunded and understaffed – to take advantage of children.

Children who are being sexually abused in foster care tend to be less likely to disclose the abuse because they simply don’t have another trusted adult in their life that they can turn to for help. They might also worry that their living situation could be threatened if they speak up.

If you endured sex abuse while in the foster care system, you could be entitled to pursue a civil claim against the people who hurt you as well as the foster care agency. In the latter case, you will need to show that the agency was negligent in that they failed to place you in a secure home environment that was free from abuse. Examples of negligence include failure to run necessary background checks and failure to take action when evidence suggested that abuse was likely occurring.

Foster care agencies and foster parents have an obligation to make sure that children have safe, stable housing. If you are a victim of foster care sex abuse, Hach & Rose, LLP can help you seek compensation for your losses.

Bullying

Sadly, children of all ages and grade levels can experience bullying at the hands of other children, especially when they are from a marginalized group. Bullying between students often occurs in schools and extracurricular programs and can take other forms, including sexual harassment. It is up to academic institutions to create a safe environment for all students, particularly children with disabilities, those who identify or present as LGBTQ, or who come from minority backgrounds.

If your child has been bullied by another student, you could potentially hold your child’s school or academic institution accountable for failing to intervene. Some common examples of bullying include:

• Punching and striking
• Pushing and shoving
• Tripping
• Mocking and insulting
• Using slurs or calling a student names
• Shaming a student for their identity
• Spreading false rumors about a student
• Online bullying, referred to as “cyberbullying”

Many students also experience harassment in school. While bullying and harassment are not the same, there is significant overlap between the two, and it is possible for bullying and harassment to occur at the same time. For example, if a student uses homophobic or transphobic slurs against an LGBTQ student, that would constitute both bullying and harassment.

If your child tells you that they have been bullied or harassed in school, you should immediately notify the school administration. If the school fails to reply or neglects to thoroughly investigate and put a stop to the mistreatment, you could pursue a civil claim against the institution. You can use your initial communication with the school’s principal to show that the school was aware of the issue but failed to act.

If your child is in a protected class and is subjected to harassment, you might have grounds to hold the academic institution responsible for violating your child’s federal civil rights. Students are protected from discriminatory harassment on the basis of race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender, and sex. When this kind of discrimination occurs, schools are legally bound to address it.

Entertainment Industry Grooming and Trafficking

The entertainment industry creates fame, fortune, glamor, and –for some– grants immense amounts of power. In recent years, many entertainment industry figures’ abuses of their power have come to light, sparking hashtags, criminal investigations, and jail time. In many cases, these abuses were open secrets. Harvey Weinstein was widely known to have been threatening to irreparably damage actresses’ careers if they did not perform various sexual acts with him.

However, there’s an even more insidious underside to the entertainment industry, where sexual abuse and grooming of children is prevalent. In the 70s, actress Brooke Shields, then 11 years old, appeared nude in several scenes of the film “Pretty Baby,” in which she played a child prostitute. The sexualization of children in the entertainment industry continued to be astonishingly commonplace throughout the following decades. In the 90s, Michael Jackson was accused of grooming and sexaully abusing children. These allegations were settled without Jackson ever admitting to any wrongdoing. There was famously a “countdown” to the moment the Olsen Twins turned 18, and teenage pop stars including Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were sexualized to a degree that would be considered inappropriate today.

Occasionally, the powerful people who are grooming and trafficking children do face charges and jail time. In 2022, R&B singer R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison after he was convicted of eight counts of sex trafficking. In 2024, rapper and music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs was accused of sex trafficking. Two of his homes have been raided by federal police in search of evidence of the allegations against him. We are following this situation closely.

Hach & Rose, LLP is experienced in helping the victims of child sex traffickers, and are diligent in helping them receive a semblance of justice for the traumatic experiences they were forced to live through. To learn more about sex trafficking and grooming in the entertainment industry, visit our Sex Abuse Survivors website.

Once the victim is in a safe environment, gently ask them about what it is you suspect is happening. At first, the victim may appear to be angry about the question or even outright deny it, but do not despair. This is a normal reaction.

If they do, in fact, open up to you and confirm what you suspect, do not hesitate to contact the local authorities so that they can start the criminal investigation process. Make sure to also seek out medical care for the victim.

We can also help victims of sexual abuse that occurred at:

• Youth Organizations
• A Friend’s House
• A Family Member’s House