Yes. Fremont survivors of sexual abuse may be able to file a civil lawsuit for money damages against the person who caused the harm and, in some cases, against an institution that failed to protect them. These cases are filed in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland. Filing deadlines depend on the survivor's age and the date of the abuse, and no police report is required.
Many survivors do not connect what happened to them with a legal claim until much later in life, and California law anticipates that. This page explains how civil claims work for people in Fremont, Newark, Union City and Hayward, where those cases go, and what the process involves. Nothing here asks you to describe what happened.
By Justice for Survivors. Last updated 2026-10-27.
What a Civil Sexual Abuse Claim Is, and How It Differs from a Criminal Case
A civil case and a criminal case are separate systems. In a criminal case, the government decides whether to prosecute, and the goal is punishment. In a civil case, the survivor files the lawsuit and makes the decisions. The survivor is the plaintiff. The defendant is the person or organization being sued.
A civil case asks whether the defendant has liability, meaning legal responsibility for the harm, and what damages should be paid.
Civil cases use the preponderance of the evidence standard, which means "more likely than not." Because of that, a civil claim can go forward even if no police report was made, charges were dropped, or the accused person was acquitted. Our guide on civil vs. criminal abuse cases explains this in more detail.
What Damages a Civil Claim Can Cover
Damages are the money a civil lawsuit seeks. They generally fall into three groups:
- Economic losses, such as therapy costs, medical costs and lost income. These are losses that can be tied to bills, records or pay.
- Non-economic losses, such as emotional distress. These reflect harm that does not come with a receipt.
- Punitive damages, which the law allows in some cases. These are aimed at the defendant's conduct rather than at a specific loss.
For sexual battery, Cal. Civ. Code § 1708.5 states that a defendant is liable for damages, including general, special and punitive damages. The amount in any case depends on its specific facts.
California Laws That Protect Sexual Abuse Survivors
A statute of limitations is the deadline for filing a lawsuit. The one that applies depends on whether the abuse happened in childhood or adulthood, and on when it happened.
Childhood sexual abuse. The rule depends on the date of the abuse:
- Abuse on or after January 1, 2024: California law now sets no time limit for filing. This rule applies only to abuse from that date forward. It did not revive older claims.
- Abuse on or before December 31, 2023: The deadline is generally the later of two dates. The first is the survivor's 40th birthday. The second is five years after the survivor discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, that a psychological injury or illness was caused by the abuse.
AB 218 (2019) set up those age-40 and five-year rules. It also opened a three-year window that revived childhood claims that were already too late. That window closed on December 31, 2022. Claims filed in time during the window can continue, but the window cannot be used for new filings.
Adult sexual assault. For assault that happened when the survivor was 18 or older, Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 340.16 generally allows filing by the later of two dates. The first is 10 years after the last act of assault. The second is three years after the survivor discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, an injury caused by it. Section 340.16(b)(3) also revives adult claims that would otherwise be too late. It covers assault that happened on or after January 1, 2009, and those claims may be filed until December 31, 2026. It does not revive a claim that was litigated to finality, or settled in a written agreement, before January 1, 2023.
What "discovery" means in plain terms. Both the childhood and adult rules include a deadline measured from when the survivor discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, that an injury or illness was caused by the abuse. In plain words, the clock under that rule is tied to when the survivor connects the harm to the abuse, not only to when the abuse happened. This is one reason a claim may still be open years later. Whether and when that point was reached depends on the facts of each case.
Sexual battery as a civil wrong. Cal. Civ. Code § 1708.5 makes sexual battery a civil tort, as described in the damages section above.
Institutional liability. Schools, churches, youth organizations, employers and other institutions can be held responsible if they knew, or should have known, about a risk and failed to act. Common legal theories include negligent hiring, negligent supervision, negligent retention and failure to protect.
Claims involving public entities. Some claims are against a public body rather than a private person or organization. For childhood abuse claims against a local public entity, such as a school district, California does not require the survivor to file a government claim form before suing. Claims against the State follow different rules. Every one of these deadlines turns on specific facts.