BRENTWOOD, Calif. – In another lifetime Mike Reck was, as he puts it, a “boring real estate attorney” making tons of money in high-profile deals.

But then he worked on a case that involved a survivor of childhood sexual assault and something inside just clicked.

“The universe unfolded and started working me on these cases,” said Reck.

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On Sunday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law allowing survivors of childhood sexual assault more time to report allegations and file a lawsuit. This is a moment that Reck has been working towards for the past 15 years.

“What that law does is effectively tells every survivor of child assault in California that this happened, it was wrong and there is accountability," Reck said.

The law will help his clients, like Tom Emens, who says he was molested by a priest at the age of 10. Emens said he was sexually abused by Monsignor Thomas Mohan, who led parishioners at St. Anthony Claret Church in Anaheim. The abuse, he said, lasted for two years, before Emens put a stop to it.

"He pushed things too far with me and I got on my bike and I rode home as fast as I could,” Emens said. "I’ll never forget that ride home and to this I ride my bike to work I think it’s a form of liberation for me."

Emens wasn’t able to sue after the statute of limitations in his case expired. But with this law, he finally can.

“I was stuck, I was handcuffed and today it’s almost as if I was released from those handcuffs,” Emens said.

The new bill provides a window of three years to revive past claims. Until now, survivors had to file a lawsuit before they were 26 years old, or within three years from discovery of the abuse. Now they have until they are 40 or five years from the moment of discovery.

The law goes into effect on January 1, 2020.