NEW YORK (AP) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed into law long-sought legislation that extends the statute of limitations so sexual abuse victims can have more time to seek criminal charges or file lawsuits.

The measure, signed on Thursday, was blocked for the past decade by Republicans who controlled the state Senate.

Democrats took control of the chamber in the November elections, and the Senate and Democrat-controlled Assembly approved the legislation last month.

Cuomo, a Democrat, signed the Child Victims Act in the Manhattan newsroom of the Daily News. The paper published numerous stories on the issue and editorialized in favor of the legislation's passage.

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