Billings, MontanaBillings Sexual Abuse
Billings Sexual Abuse Lawyers: Childhood Sexual Abuse, Institutional Abuse and Sexual Assault Claims in Yellowstone County
Boland Aarab PLLP.
If you were sexually abused in Billings or anywhere in Yellowstone County, you may be able to bring a private civil claim against the person who harmed you and any school, church, program or employer that failed to protect you. Survivors of childhood abuse generally have until age 27, or 3 years from a later discovery, to file.
You are in control of this conversation. Read at your own pace and reach out only when you are ready. If you need to talk to someone now, call or text 988, or call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673. If you are in danger, call 911.
When you are ready, we are here. Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
What should survivors in Billings know about where to turn?
A civil case is only one path, and you do not need to take any other step before talking to us. But survivors often ask who else can help, and in Billings the answers are specific.
- Reporting a crime. Abuse that happened inside Billings city limits is investigated by the Billings Police Department; abuse elsewhere in the county, by the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office. Criminal charges are decided by the Yellowstone County Attorney’s Office. You do not need a police report or a conviction to bring a civil case.
- Protecting a child now. Anyone worried about a child’s safety can call Montana’s Child Abuse Hotline at 1-866-820-5437, 24 hours a day. The reporter’s identity is kept confidential (DPHHS Child and Family Services).
- Colleges. Students at MSU Billings and Rocky Mountain College have rights under Title IX, which require the school to respond to sexual harassment and assault. A school that responds with deliberate indifference can be sued.
- Tribal and federal settings. The Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations lie within the federal court’s Billings Division. Abuse involving federal employees or federally run programs, such as Indian Health Service or Bureau of Indian Affairs programs, can bring in the Federal Tort Claims Act, which has its own 2-year written-claim deadline (28 U.S.C. § 2401(b)).
What happens after abuse in Billings, if you decide to bring a claim?
- A confidential first conversation. You can call yourself or have someone you trust call for you. There is no obligation, and you choose what to share.
- Quiet investigation. We can gather school, church, medical and counseling records, and investigate what an institution knew, often without you repeating your story.
- Privacy protections in court. Courts can allow survivors to proceed by initials or a pseudonym, seal sensitive records and limit who sees them. We ask for those protections when they are appropriate.
- Filing. A case filed in state court in Yellowstone County is heard in the Thirteenth Judicial District Court at the Yellowstone County Courthouse, 217 North 27th Street (§ 3-5-101, MCA). Title IX claims, claims against out-of-state organizations and federal-program claims are often heard in the Billings Division of the U.S. District Court, at the James F. Battin Federal Courthouse (District of Montana).
- You decide. Whether to file, settle or go to trial is always your choice.
Claims against public schools, including a public school district in Yellowstone County, and other government entities have special written-notice rules (§ 2-9-301, MCA), so it is important to identify every responsible organization early.
Montana law that applies
- Childhood sexual abuse: file before age 27, or within 3 years of discovering, or when you reasonably should have discovered, that an injury was caused by the abuse, whichever is later (§ 27-2-216, MCA).
- Institutions: the same deadlines apply to claims against organizations whose employees, volunteers or agents negligently allowed the abuse (§ 27-2-216(3)).
- Mandatory reporters, including school staff, clergy and health care workers, must report suspected child abuse (§ 41-3-201, MCA). A failure to report can be evidence of institutional negligence.
- Punitive damages may be available where the conduct involved actual malice (§ 27-1-221, MCA).
- Abuse of adults follows different, often shorter, deadlines.
Please do not decide on your own that it is too late. Our Montana sexual abuse page explains the deadlines and the 2019 changes in more depth.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Billings case?
Some survivors prefer lawyers from outside their own community, so that the first conversation does not happen with someone who knows their family, their parish or their school. We are based in Great Falls and handle cases statewide. Our attorneys travel to Billings to meet survivors privately and for depositions, hearings and trial, and our firm has tried jury trials in Yellowstone County. We do not have a Billings office. We can meet somewhere you choose, or by phone or video.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We are prepared to go to trial. Institutions and their insurers take a case more seriously when they know the survivor’s lawyers will try it. Our firm has tried more than a dozen jury trials, in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties, and our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- We are comfortable in federal court, where institutional and Title IX cases are often heard. Our attorneys have handled more than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana over nine years.
- We are active in the trial bar. Both attorneys are members of the American Association for Justice and the Montana Trial Lawyers Association. Caitlin is an AAJ Governor and serves on the MTLA Board; Sam is also a member of Public Justice.
- You work with the two attorneys who will handle your case, from the first confidential conversation to the end.
Related Billings pages: nursing home abuse · insurance bad faith · all Billings personal injury cases
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to report the abuse to Billings police before talking to a lawyer? No. A civil case does not require a police report or a criminal conviction. Whether to report is your decision, and we can talk it through with you.
Can I sue a Billings school or church for abuse by one of its employees or volunteers? Yes, if the organization’s negligence caused or allowed the abuse, and the same age-27 and discovery deadlines apply (§ 27-2-216(3), MCA). Public schools have special notice rules.
I was assaulted as a student at a Billings college. What are my options? You may have a civil claim against the person who harmed you, and a Title IX claim against the school if it responded with deliberate indifference. Those cases are often heard in federal court in Billings.
Will my name be public if I file in Yellowstone County? Not necessarily. Courts can allow survivors to use initials or a pseudonym and can seal sensitive records. We ask for those protections when appropriate.
The abuse happened decades ago. Is it too late? Maybe not. The 3-year discovery rule can run from when you connected your injuries to the abuse, even after age 27. A confidential conversation can answer that.
Talk to a Billings Sexual Abuse Lawyer
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
