Colorado Supreme Court closes door on retroactive justice for some child sex abuse survivors

The Colorado Supreme Court has closed the door on retroactive justice for some child sex abuse survivors by ruling a 2021 law unconstitutional. 

Colorado's Child Sexual Abuse Accountability Act allowed victims of child sexual abuse to file lawsuits against their abusers and the organizations that failed to stop that abuse, even after the statute of limitations was up. 

The Supreme Court struck down the law on Tuesday. But a child sex abuse survivor who helped get it passed says he's not giving up yet.    

"I'm speaking for all of them that can't speak or won't speak," Ray Desser said. 

He says he was molested as a 13-year-old in Colorado in the 1970s. 

"I just thought I was damaged goods," Desser expressed. 

It took decades for him to come forward and by then, the statute of limitations expired, which at the time, was six years from when a victim turned 18. 

"It's unrealistic that they're gonna come forward, because there's too much pain, too much hurt," Desser said. 

Desser testified to get a law passed in 2021 that created a path for survivors like him to sue over decades-old abuses. 

"It was amazing to be a part of it cause I was at the Capitol building every day," Desser said.    

State Senator Jessie Danielson was a sponsor of the bill. 

"It gave the survivor a path forward to hold accountable those complicit institutions along with their abusers," Danielson said. 

But this week, the law was struck down by the Supreme Court, citing the state constitution's ban on "retroactive" laws.

"It is a true shame that the court ruled against this law and put these survivors back to square one," said Danielson, "I fully anticipate that those abusers and the institutions that shielded them are celebrating this decision."    

"The Constitution in the state of Colorado was written in 1876, it's time for a change," Desser said. 

Now, he wants to take the issue to the voters and hopes to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot. 

"If I got to go door-to-door to get signatures I'll do it. I'm not done. And as long as there's a breath in me, trust me this will get fixed," Desser said. 

Another law passed back in 2021 that removed the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse, which means going forward, victims will be able to get justice no matter when they come forward.