The Brad Hendricks Law Firm
Clergy Abuse
Attorneys
Your Guiding Counselors in
Arkansas Clergy Abuse Cases
Were you or a family member the victim of Clergy Sexual Abuse? Have you remained silent over what occured? The attorneys at The Brad Hendricks Law Firm serve as legal advocates to victims of sexual abuse and molestation at the hands of clergy or church members. We handle all civil claims, including clients involved in abuse occuring decades ago.
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Call or reach out digitally to our experienced church abuse attorneys at 501-221-0444 or by clicking any of the contact buttons on this website. We offer free case evaluations to help you seek justice and recover compensation. All sensitive information you discuss with your Arkansas clergy abuse lawyer will remain private through an attorney-client relationship.
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How Our
Clergy Abuse
Attorneys Can Help You
The Lifelong Struggles of Childhood Sexual Abuse
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Child survivors of sexual abuse by clergy members and priests often experience lifelong struggles involving depression, alcoholism, social anxiety, substance abuse, risky behavior, and suicidal ideation. The damage inflicted by an abusive religious leader on a young developing boy or girl is nearly immeasurable.
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Sadly, clergy abuse is only now becoming well-documented as a legal record due to media scrutiny and the release of "secret files" held by Church officials not interested in the damaging effects that the child sexual abuse by priests caused the victims.
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For decades, the sexually abused have remained silent against the Church and other religious organizations that covered up what happened.
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Are you or your loved one a child sexual abuse victim? The compassionate network of attorneys at The Brad Hendricks Law Firm can provide immediate legal assistance in holding the sexual predator and religious organizations financially accountable for their despicable acts.
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Our law firm cares and understands the pain you are feeling and the bravery it takes to speak openly about what occurred. In addition, our child abuse lawyers are ready to hear your story.
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Sexual Assault Involving Clergy Is Still a Problem
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The level of shame Church officials caused should be immense because they hid "secret files" from the public and law enforcement for decades.
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Instead, the Vatican, Cardinals, Bishops, pastors, priests, and other ecclesiastical members have gone to great lengths to protect pedophile priests, knowing that their child sex abuse victims would find it impossible to hold the Church and the predators accountable.
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However, the legal system has fought hard to change the previous statute of limitation laws to now allow adult victims of sex abuse during their childhood to come forward and remove the shield that clergy pedophiles have hidden behind for years.
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Today, survivors of child sex abuse who cannot forget the horrific experience can force pedophiles and Church officials to face the consequences of their unacceptable actions.
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Unfortunately, many despicable cases of childhood sexual abuse in Arkansas have occurred in numerous religious institutions, including the Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church, Baptist Church, Judaism, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
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These incidents happen in many religious schools, seminaries, parishes, churches, synagogues, retreats, summer camps, the confessional, religious counseling, and other extracurricular activities sponsored by religious institutions.
The Devastating Effects of A Sexual Abuse Act
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Unfortunately, child sexual abuse occurring in the Catholic Dioceses is all too common, victimizing men, women, teens, and young children. The victims are often subjected to rape, incest, child molestation, non-consensual sexual abuse, and non-consensual inappropriate physical contact.
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Women and girls sexually assaulted by a diocesan priest and other active ministry clergy members are often labeled as promiscuous, uninhibited, immoral, or seeking men's attention. Nothing could be further from the truth.
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Religious leaders abuse most adult and child abuse victims because of the predator's access to their prey and the community's confidence that the clergy member could be trusted.
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According to the Children's Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services statistics, approximately 10% of the clergy abuse and neglect victims who were sexually abused were 11 years old and younger.
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Sadly, the consequences of child sex abuse can lead to severe problems through the victim's
developmental stages that include:
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Sexual behavior problems
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Anger and aggression
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Low self-esteem
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Social maladjustment
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Distrusting others
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Fear and anxiety
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Depressive symptoms
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Dissociative symptoms
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Sleep behavior problems
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Neurological changes
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Delinquency
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Multiple sexual partners
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Teen pregnancy
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High risk of sexual behavior
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Strained family relationships
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Social isolation behavior
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Anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders
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Self-mutilation behavior
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Blood-borne infections and sexually transmitted diseases
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Sexual revictimization
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Attempted suicide and suicidal ideation (thinking of suicide)
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Updated Statute of Limitation Laws
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In May 2021, the Arkansas State Legislature passed a new law extending the statute of limitations on childhood sex abuse cases statewide. The Justice for Vulnerable Victims of Sexual Abuse Act (Act 1036) extends the statute of limitations to file civil lawsuits from 21 to 55 years old.
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The change in the law means that a sexual molestation victim now has until they are 55 years old to file
lawsuits in Arkansas.
The change in the law will affect the Church and other religious organizations and groups, including the Boy Scouts of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and other youth groups.
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