One of the most frustrating situations for survivors of child sexual abuse is when the abuser—or a negligent institution—tries to avoid responsibility by hiding assets or fleeing. Families may fear that even if they win their lawsuit, they will never see financial compensation to help with therapy, medical costs, or other long-term needs.
Fortunately, the law provides ways to fight back. Missouri courts have tools to trace hidden money, freeze accounts, and pursue assets across state lines. Survivors also have the option to bring claims against institutions that enabled the abuse, ensuring more avenues for recovery.
This article explains what happens when an abuser or negligent party attempts to evade justice financially, and what survivors and their attorneys can do about it.
Why Abusers Try to Hide Assets
Fear of Financial Consequences
Facing a lawsuit for child sexual abuse can result in significant damages. Abusers may owe compensation for medical care, therapy, lost wages, and pain and suffering. The financial stakes are high, and many attempt to shield what they own.
Common Asset-Hiding Tactics
- Transferring property to friends or relatives.
- Creating shell companies or moving money into business accounts.
- Shifting funds offshore to banks outside U.S. jurisdiction.
- Converting cash into physical assets such as jewelry, cars, or collectibles.
- Declaring bankruptcy to avoid paying court judgments.
Each of these strategies is designed to make it appear that the abuser has little or nothing worth seizing.
Missouri Law and Hidden Assets
Fraudulent Transfers
Missouri law prohibits fraudulent transfers—transactions made with the intent to avoid paying creditors, including survivors who win a judgment. Courts can unwind these transfers and return the assets to be used for compensation.
Asset Freezing
Judges can issue injunctions to freeze bank accounts or prevent the sale of property while a case is pending. This ensures that survivors are not left with an empty judgment once the lawsuit concludes.
Contempt of Court
If an abuser refuses to disclose assets or violates court orders, judges may hold them in contempt. Penalties can include fines, additional damages, or even jail time.
What If the Abuser Flees Missouri?
Enforcement Across State Lines
A Missouri judgment can be enforced in other states through a process called “domestication.” Once filed in another state’s court, the judgment has the same power there as it does in Missouri, allowing survivors to seize property or garnish wages.
Federal Support for Survivors
In certain cases, federal agencies may become involved, especially if assets are moved across borders. Federal claims for child sexual abuse often have no statute of limitations, which means survivors may still pursue legal remedies even years later.
Pursuing Institutions When Individuals Hide Assets
Institutional Accountability
Even if the abuser is personally insolvent, survivors may have claims against institutions such as schools, churches, or foster care agencies that failed to protect them. These organizations often have insurance policies or assets that can be used to pay settlements or verdicts.
Insurance Coverage
Many institutions carry liability insurance. While insurers often fight hard to deny coverage, courts frequently rule that survivors are entitled to compensation through these policies.
Tools Attorneys Use to Uncover Hidden Assets
Subpoenas and Discovery
Civil lawsuits allow attorneys to issue subpoenas for financial records, tax returns, and property deeds. This makes it difficult for abusers to fully conceal what they own.
Forensic Accountants
Attorneys may hire forensic accountants—financial experts who specialize in tracing hidden money. They analyze bank statements, business ledgers, and other records to uncover concealed wealth.
Public Records Searches
Land ownership, vehicle registrations, and business filings are often public. These records can reveal when an abuser has tried to transfer property or undervalue assets.
Expert Testimony
In court, financial experts can testify about fraudulent transfers or suspicious patterns, strengthening the survivor’s case for asset recovery.
What Happens if Bankruptcy Is Filed?
Limits of Bankruptcy Protection
While bankruptcy is sometimes used to avoid paying debts, many damages awarded in child sexual abuse cases are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. This means survivors may still be entitled to compensation even if the abuser declares bankruptcy.
Institutional Bankruptcy
Some institutions, such as dioceses or youth organizations, have filed for bankruptcy after being sued by multiple survivors. While bankruptcy can complicate recovery, survivors may still receive compensation through victim funds established during the process.
Case Outcomes When Assets Are Hidden
Asset Recovery
In many cases, courts succeed in reclaiming assets that were fraudulently transferred. Survivors can still recover damages once the truth is uncovered.
Additional Penalties
Judges may impose extra financial penalties on abusers who attempt to deceive the court. In some cases, punitive damages are awarded specifically because of the abuser’s efforts to hide assets.
Pursuit of Alternative Defendants
When an individual’s assets are truly gone, lawsuits against institutions often provide the best chance for meaningful compensation.
Steps Survivors and Families Can Take
- Hire an Experienced Attorney: Not all lawyers are equipped to track hidden assets. Choosing an attorney like Grant Boyd, who has experience in civil lawsuits for child sexual abuse, ensures the case is pursued aggressively.
- Document Everything: Keep records of any financial behavior that seems suspicious, such as sudden transfers of property or changes in employment.
- Act Quickly: The sooner a lawsuit is filed, the sooner courts can freeze assets and prevent fraudulent transfers.
- Explore Institutional Liability: Survivors should consider claims not only against abusers, but also against schools, churches, camps, or agencies that failed to protect them.
Why Compensation Matters
Covering the Cost of Healing
Survivors often require years of therapy, medical treatment, and support services. Financial compensation ensures they are not burdened with these costs.
Symbolic Justice
Recovering damages is about more than money—it sends a message that abusers cannot escape accountability, no matter how hard they try to hide.
Preventing Future Abuse
When institutions are forced to pay for negligence, it creates pressure to implement better protections for children.
Abusers and negligent institutions may try to escape accountability by hiding assets or fleeing, but the law in Missouri gives survivors powerful tools to fight back. From freezing accounts to uncovering fraudulent transfers, courts take these attempts at evasion seriously. Survivors also have options to pursue institutions with deeper resources, ensuring more paths to justice.
At O’Brien Law Firm, attorney Grant Boyd is committed to helping survivors recover the compensation they need to heal and move forward. Even when abusers attempt to run or conceal what they own, our team works tirelessly to uncover the truth and secure justice for survivors.