A federal judge in Atlanta has tossed out a lawsuit by a man who said he was molested by a priest more than 20 years ago, writing that—even though the plaintiff first sued the priest within a two-year statutory window created by the 2015 Hidden Predator Act—his voluntary dismissal and refiling of the suit in 2018 meant it was too late to seek relief.

While the plaintiff had argued that the state’s six-month statute of limitations to refile a dismissed action should apply, Judge J.P. Boulee of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia said the law contained a set date to file such actions—July 1, 2017—constituting “a statute of repose and not a statute of limitation.”