§ 23-101 — Sexual abuse per se harmful

For an action arising out of an injury caused by sexual conduct or sexual penetration as defined in Section 11-0.1 of the Criminal Code of 2012, if the plaintiff proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant committed childhood sexual abuse as defined in Section 13-202.2 against the plaintiff, such sexual conduct or sexual penetration shall be considered obviously and materially harmful to the plaintiff and shall be deemed by the court per se harmful and traumatic. The plaintiff need not present additional evidence to prove they were harmed. The plaintiff may present additional evidence to show the extent of such harm. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to state that a plaintiff discovered the cause of action at any particular time, or that a plaintiff realized that the plaintiff's damages were related to the plaintiff's sexual abuse at any particular time. This Section applies to causes of action arising on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly or to causes of action for which the limitation period has not yet expired.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 103-1053, eff. 12-20-24.)