PENNSYLVANIA
The Patriot-News
By JAN MURPHY, The Patriot-News
The House Judiciary Committee approved legislation that child protection advocates see as making good steps forward in helping future victims of child sexual abuse.
A bill, sponsored by committee Chairman Ron Marsico, R-Lower Paxton Twp., would lift the statute of limitations on criminal prosecutions in child sexual assault cases. It also would extend the statute of limitations in civil proceedings until the victim reaches age 50.
Current state statutes give victims until age 50 to press criminal charges and until age 30 to file a civil suit against their abusers.
Marsico said that while he would have preferred to wait to hear from the Task Force on Child Protection that is currently review the state’s child protection laws. But child protection advocates were pressuring the committee to act, including one who took out an ad urging action by Marsico’s committee.
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