Three former boy scouts who claimed they were sexually abused by a scout leader in the 1990s have been cleared to proceed with a civil suit after a Bergen County judge rejected a challenge on statute of limitations grounds.

The plaintiffs, who are now in their 30s, filed their suits within two years of their discovery that their emotional injuries were linked to the abusive acts, Judge John O'Dwyer ruled Wednesday. Their suits are permitted under the Child Sexual Abuse Act, enacted in 1992 to create a statutory cause of action for sexual abuse, the judge said.

The ruling allows the plaintiffs to proceed with civil claims over their alleged abuse by Stephen Corcoran while they were members of Troop 173 in Parsippany. The judge was persuaded by the testimony from plaintiff's expert witness Dawn Hughes, a psychologist and an authority on child sexual abuse, at a hearing on the statute of limitations question on July 18 and 19.