Rally for Reform Planned in Harrisburg
WFMZ
Survivors of child sexual abuse and their advocates will converge on Harrisburg next week. They plan to rally at the Capitol on Monday to support efforts to get a pair of statute of limitations bills moved to the full House of Representatives for a vote. Delilah Rumburg, the CEO of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, will host the rally and news conference, along with Rep. Mark Rozzi, a Berks County Democrat and survivor of child sexual abuse, who will emcee the event. It's set to start at 1:30 p.m. in the main Capitol rotunda. One of the bills under consideration would eliminate the statute of limitations for criminal and civil cases of child sex abuse; the other would create a two-year window for past victims to have the opportunity to file civil lawsuits. The rally comes on the heels of a grand jury report released last week by Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane. According to investigators, hundreds of children in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese were sexually abused for at least 40 years, and religious leaders worked to cover it up. The case can not be prosecuted because the statute of limitations expired. State Rep. Frank Burns, whose district includes the diocese, will be on hand for the rally, as well as Kane and state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale. Representatives from child advocacy centers, rape crisis centers and victim services groups will also be on hand for the rally, Rozzi said.
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