The Department of Justice says it cannot offer any further comment when it comes to the class action lawsuit filed on behalf of residents who say they suffered abuse in Boys’ and Girls’ homes in Pleasantville, Whitbourne, and Waterford Bridge Road over the last five decades.

The Department consented to have the case proceed as class action. However, it specifies that action in no way indicates an admission of liability.

One of the lawyers behind the class action, Lynn Moore says they chose 1989 as the end of their class-period because it marked the end of the Hughes Inquiry, into Mount Cashel, but are also mindful of the fact that some of the abused may not be ready to come forward.

Moore says those who were abused in the ’90s, ’00s or even after, may not be ready to come forward yet as they find most of their clients to be in the ’40s and ’50s.

People who have been sexually assaulted as children find it very difficult to speak about their abuse, says Moore. She says they often, in their ’20s and ’30s, are raising families and establishing themselves, so the majority who come forward are much older.

There is a 90-day window to get the word out and have people come forward. Moore says they won’t really know the extent of the class until the whole thing is over.