PENNSYLVANIA
PennLIve
By Ivey DeJesus | idejesus@pennlive.com
Pennsylvania on Thursday came one step closer to joining the ranks of states that have overhauled child sex crime laws in the wake of stunning child sex abuse scandals.
Three months after a grand jury investigation found systemic sexual abuse of hundreds of children by priests in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese, the Senate by a 49-0 vote gave final passage to a bill that broadly amends and toughens the law on future sex crimes against children.
House Bill 1947, widely seen as a compromise bill out of that chamber, garnered wide support from the Senate just weeks after its constitutionality was questioned.
If signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf, House Bill 1947 would eliminate criminal statute of limitations for most child sex crimes. The bill also broadens the time frame that victims have to file civil suits against predators.
The bill, however, dashed the hopes of hundreds if not thousands of victims of past child sex abuse who had look to legislative changes in the law for justice. A retroactive measure in the bill was eliminated this week under an amendment from Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R‑Jefferson County.
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