Burlington County
Sexual Abuse Lawyer in Mount Laurel, New Jersey
The office is in Mount Laurel, at 2000 Academy Dr., Suite 200, and sexual abuse claims from Mount Laurel and the rest of Burlington County are handled from here. Mount Laurel sits in Burlington County, whose county seat is Mount Holly, and a first conversation is a free and confidential phone call rather than a meeting you have to arrange.
Free, confidential, and no obligation. You decide what happens next, and you can stop at any point.
This is the office
Mount Laurel is where this practice is based, at 2000 Academy Dr., Suite 200. That makes this page slightly different from the other town pages on this site: for most of them the connection is that a case would be heard nearby, and for this one it is that the lawyer is here.
It changes less than you might think. Nearly every first conversation happens on the phone, including with people who live a few minutes away, because it is easier to make a call than to arrange to walk into a law office and say why you came. If you would rather come in, you are welcome, and that is arranged whenever it is what you prefer.
Burlington County, practically
Mount Laurel is in Burlington County, and the county seat is Mount Holly, about ten miles away, where county matters are administered. Most abuse claims resolve without anyone attending a trial.
Neighboring towns whose residents this office regularly hears from include Moorestown, Marlton and Evesham, Medford, Willingboro, Maple Shade, Burlington Township and Mount Holly itself.
Local services
Independent of this office, free, and available whether or not you ever speak to a lawyer.
- Providence House, the Willingboro Shelter program, is the state-designated sexual violence service for Burlington County, on 609-871-7551, 24 hours.
- Contact of Burlington County, based in Mount Holly, provides sexual assault services 24/7 on (856) 600-4800, including phone support, counseling, and accompaniment to hospital, police and court.
- Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, Victim Witness Unit, P.O. Box 6000, Mount Holly, NJ 08060, on (609) 265-5035. This supports people through the criminal process and is separate from a civil claim.
- A regional sexual assault line, listed among Burlington County’s resources by the New Jersey State Police, operates on (877) 871-7551.
Criminal process and civil claim are not the same thing
This comes up more here than anywhere else, because people who have already been dealing with the Prosecutor’s Office often assume that is the whole system.
The criminal process decides whether someone is punished. It is run by the state, and the victim is a witness in it rather than a party. A civil claim is yours: you bring it, you decide whether to continue, and it seeks compensation rather than a conviction. It is decided to a lower standard of proof, and it can proceed where no charge was ever brought or where a prosecution failed.
Using the Victim Witness Unit does not prevent a civil claim, and bringing a civil claim does not interfere with a criminal case.
The kinds of claims handled from here
The same claims as anywhere else in New Jersey, because this is state law rather than local law: abuse in schools, in churches and religious organizations, in childcare, in foster care and group homes, and by medical providers.
What is local is the practical part: which courthouse, which crisis line, and the fact that the person you would be speaking to works about ten minutes from where you are.
Who can be held responsible
The person who committed the abuse, and usually the organization that put them in a position to do it: how it hired, how it supervised, what it did when a concern was raised, and whether it reported what New Jersey law required. Each of those is a separate route to a claim, and each is proved with different documents.
How institutions are held liable for sexual abuse in New Jersey
How long do you have to file in New Jersey?
If you were abused as a child, you can generally bring a civil claim in New Jersey until your 55th birthday, or within seven years of realizing that your injuries are connected to the abuse, whichever of those is later.
If you were an adult when the abuse happened, the period is generally seven years from the incident, or seven years from the point at which you connected the harm to it.
New Jersey also ran a two-year lookback window, from December 1, 2019 to November 30, 2021, during which claims that had already expired could be brought regardless of age. That window has closed. It is worth being clear about, because people hear that it closed and conclude they have missed everything, when the ordinary deadlines above are separate and often still leave years.
Which of these applies to you, and when your seven years started, depends on facts specific to you. A short confidential call will tell you where you actually stand.
Free, confidential, and no obligation. You decide what happens next, and you can stop at any point.
Questions people ask
Where exactly is the office?
2000 Academy Dr., Suite 200, Mount Laurel, NJ 08054, in Burlington County. The phone number for this site is (848) 290-7929. You are welcome to come in, and you do not have to: almost every first conversation happens by phone.
Which courthouse would a Burlington County case involve?
Burlington County's seat is Mount Holly, about ten miles from Mount Laurel, and county civil matters are administered from there. Most claims resolve without a trial, so for most people this remains a formality.
Is there a rape crisis service in Burlington County?
Yes. Providence House, the Willingboro Shelter program, is the state-designated service, on 609-871-7551, 24 hours. Contact of Burlington County provides sexual assault services 24/7 on (856) 600-4800, including phone support and hospital, legal and police accompaniment, from Mount Holly. Both are free.
What does the Burlington County Prosecutor's Victim Witness Unit do?
It supports victims through the criminal process, at P.O. Box 6000, Mount Holly, NJ 08060, on (609) 265-5035. It is separate from a civil claim. You can use it, bring a civil claim, do both, or do neither, and none of those choices closes off the others.
Do you only take Burlington County cases?
No. The office is here and cases are taken across New Jersey. Being local to Mount Laurel is convenient rather than necessary.
Can I meet in person if I would rather not do this by phone?
Yes. Some people find it easier to say things in a room than on a call, and that is arranged whenever it is what you would prefer.