This story was reported in partnership with New York Focus and supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
Ernastiaze Moore knew the name of the state prison guard who he alleges sexually assaulted him on two separate occasions at Sullivan Correctional Facility, where he was incarcerated. He remembered the dates of the abuse and the rooms where the attacks took place. His lawyers obtained video of one of the assaults and internal prison reports of both incidents.
His case seemed like exactly the type that the Adult Survivors Act was created for. The 2022 state law temporarily allowed sexual assault victims to bring civil suits against their alleged abusers outside of the typical statute of limitations, which would have required Moore to begin filing within 90 days.
In November 2023, Moore’s lawyers filed his lawsuit. But a judge dismissed his case before it could get off the ground. The reason: The complaint misstated the year the alleged abuse took place.