Can my sister and i take someone who molested us about 33 years ago to small claims court?

[hackett]

The statute of limitations for sexual abuse varies between States. Some start the clock after you reach 18, some after it began, and others have a wide range.

But small claims court is not where you want to go. First, you are limited to a small amount of damages, perhaps a few thousands and that is insufficient to compensate you for needed care.

In addition, it is possible that litigation in small claims court would result in what would be termed judicial determination of the event, so you could no longer press further claims in an appropriate venue. (Think of it as double jeopardy for him if you won, so he could not be charged further in the matter.)

And it is most certain that small claims court would likely have a 5 year limit on Statute of limitations.