Ohio Supreme Court to review law limiting rights of child rape victims

In the matter of Simpkins v. Delaware Grace Brethren Church, Ohio Supreme Court Case No. 2014-1953, the Court has agreed to review the constitutionality of an Ohio law which limits the rights of child rape victims while protecting the rights of many sexual predators and those who cover up their misconduct. Current Ohio law limits the child’s ability to recover for pain and suffering to $250,000 (up to $350,000 in some instances), even if the child is raped multiple times in a “single course of conduct”.

Thus, for example, a child could be raped 50 times and receive $5000 per rape. However, the child would not receive $5000 per rape because the damage limitation does not take into consideration the child’s attorney fees and litigation expenses. These cases often involve years of work, time and litigation expense. The Fitch Law Firm represents the victim in this case and began working on the case in 2008, when the victim was twice raped by her pastor. The church had notice of two prior instances of sexual predatory conduct by the pastor, both involving young females who testified in the case.