Proponents of Expanding Statute of Limitations for Abuse Victims Update the Battle in Pa.

By Kathleen E. Carey
Daily Times
September 20, 2016

http://www.delcotimes.com/general-news/20160920/proponents-of-expanding-statute-of-limitations-for-abuse-victims-update-the-battle-in-pa

Surrounded by those integral to the clergy sex abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston, advocates of statute of limitation reform here in Pennsylvania pleaded their cause Tuesday during a press conference

“The statute of limitations hurts no one but victims and it helps no one but perpetrators,” said Jeff Dion, director of the National Crime Victim Bar Association, during the press conference at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel.

He stood next to state Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-126, of Berks County, Massachusetts victims Phil Saviano and Joe Crowley, and attorney Roderick “Eric” MacLeish as he voiced his support for the expansion of the statute of limitations, or the time a victim can bring a claim against a defendant, here in Pennsylvania. The saga of the scandal in the Boston Archdiocese formed the backdrop for the movie “Spotlight,” which won this year’s Best Picture at the Academy Awards detailing the work of the Boston Globe investigative unit that blew the lid off years af abuse and a cover-up by the church hierarchy.

As the General Assembly begins its fall session, one of the things that may be considered is HB 1947, a state law repealing the statute of criminal limitations for childhood sex abuse. It also contained a controversial provision sponsored by Rozzi to extend the civil statute of limitations by 20 years - and also make it retroactive, in effect allowing victims from decades ago to be able to bring suit against their abusers now. The measure was overwhelmingly approved in the Pa House earlier this year, before stalling in the Senate.

The state Senate amended the House version, eliminating criminal statutes but stripping out the retroactive language when it comes to civil suits, allowing them only moving forward after the law is passed. Currently under Pa. law, victims have 12 years after their 18th birthday to bring suit, inn effect when they are 30 years old.

Victims’ advocates say that’s not enough time for those harmed to come to terms with what occurred to them.

“We know that it takes victims sometimes 30 or more years to be able to disclose that abuse for a number of reasons,” Dion said. “But even if it takes the victims 30 years to disclose the abuse and that perpetrator is still alive, we often find that they’re still molesting kids at 70 and 80 years old in walkers and wheelchairs because pedophiles don’t retire. And that’s why it’s so important that we have a retroactive civil window that’ll allow those old cases to come forward.”

Dion said not expanding the statutes may place Pennsylvania’s children at risk.

“I think it’s no coincidence that we look at the states that have the biggest scandals, they’re the ones with the most restrictive statutes of limitation because that’s where perpetrators go where they know they can’t be held accountable,” he said.

He compared it to those wanting to smoke marijuana.

“Imagine if the most important thing in your life was being able to smoke marijuana without being harassed by the police, where would you live?” he asked. “You would live in Oregon, or Colorado or Washington state.”

Dion said a similar dynamic occurs in states with more lax statutes.

“(Pedophiles) use the statute of limitations as a shield,” he said. “They know they don’t have to keep victims quiet forever. They just have to keep them quiet long enough to run out the clock.”

House Bill 1947 is expected to be debated again as the Legislature returns for its fall session. Rozzi has vowed to reintroduce his amendment.

The retroactive language has been vehemently opposed by the insurance industry and the Catholic church.

Several Delaware County House members felt backlash in their own parishes after voting in favor of the legislation. State Rep. Nick Miccarelli, R-162, of Ridley Park, was mentioned by name in his parish bulletin as voting in favor of the measure. State Rep. Jamie Santora, R-163, of Upper Darby, said the actions of the archdiocese came very close to “electioneering.”

A letter from Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput urging Catholics to contact their state senators to vote against the measure after he passed the House was read or distributed in every parish in the archdiocese.