Legislature advances protections for survivors of child sex abuse

By Noelle Annonen , Multimedia Reporter

March 25, 2026, 8 p.m. ·

Sen. Tanya Storer speaks Thursday (Fred Knapp/Nebraska Public Media News) — Sen. Tanya Storer speaks Thursday. (Fred Knapp/Nebraska Public Media News)

Listen To This Story

Senators advanced a large package of bills Thursday creating pathways for survivors of child sex abuse materials to seek justice and expanding court fees related to even minor cases.

Among the bills was one that gives survivors and their families the chance to bring civil suits over obscene child sex abuse material and devices. Sen. Tanya Storer, who proposed the initiative, said it both prohibits child sex abuse material on the internet and the possession of sex dolls made to look like children. It supplements criminal law by allowing civil suits to be brought against the companies that distribute these materials.

“This is not about a Playboy magazine or cable TV,” Storer said. “This addresses material so harmful that publishing it is already a crime. Child sex abuse videos, it’s on the internet and children are in this material and are exposed to it every day.”

Storer said survivors can also recover litigation and attorney costs related to the suits.

Lawmakers also advanced a way to fund a new case management system for the state’s courts through increasing court fees. The fees will stack on top of existing court fees, adding $45 costs for civil action in district courts and $36 to traffic misdemeanors, among others. There is also a new $10 fee that will be added to each case. The funds cover the cost for updating the case management system software, which bill proponent Sen. Carolyn Bosn said is extremely outdated and hard to manage.

Fees are an alternative to the courts asking the legislature for more money, as senators grapple with a structural budget deficit. But opponents argued that the fees make it harder for people to file a claim or get justice in their cases.

“Who is going to be disproportionately impacted by these fees creates a lot of concern and more harm than where we already are,” Sen. Ashlei Spivey said.

She added that traffic stops disproportionately impact Black Nebraskans.

The measures were part of a larger bill that prohibits frivolous lawsuits, using tracking devices to track, or stalk, romantic partners, and creates a new statewide no-contact period for perpetrators of domestic or sexual assault offenses. The bill also allows political subdivisions to seek attorney fees and expenses when a court finds a claim was frivolous or intended to harass the defendants.