State lawmakers will hear testimony on a bill to extend the statute of limitations for civil actions in child sex abuse cases — an effort to allow dozens of victims of Dr. George Reardon to sue even though their case is too old under state law.

Last year, a similar bill also had a public hearing but the Judiciary Committee failed to vote on the proposal. Victims currently have 30 years after the offense to file a civil lawsuit.

The State’s Victim Advocate Michelle Cruz said she hopes this year the Judiciary Committee will act.

“Sometimes it takes victims years to talk about it and then confront their abuser,” she said.

Alaska, Delaware, and Minnesota have no statue of limitation on child sex abuse civil cases, said Sen. Mary Ann Handley, D-Manchester.

“There is a whole army of people out there. All we’re saying is just let them have their day in court,” she said, noting that seven victims in her district are unable to take action.

The public hearing will be scheduled sometime in the next two weeks.

Jacqueline was CT Mirror’s Education and Housing Reporter, and an original member of the CT Mirror staff, joining shortly before our January 2010 launch. Her awards include the best-of-show Theodore A. Driscoll Investigative Award from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists in 2019 for reporting on inadequate inmate health care, first-place for investigative reporting from the New England Newspaper and Press Association in 2020 for reporting on housing segregation, and two first-place awards from the National Education Writers Association in 2012. She was selected for a prestigious, year-long Propublica Local Reporting Network grant in 2019, exploring a range of affordable and low-income housing issues. Before joining CT Mirror, Jacqueline was a reporter, online editor and website developer for The Washington Post Co.’s Maryland newspaper chains. Jacqueline received an undergraduate degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University and a master’s in public policy from Trinity College.

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