Pending report on Catholic child sex abuse in Pennsylvania could renew efforts to amend statute of limitations law

PENNSYLVANIA
Trib Live

May 22, 2018

By Debra Erdley

A statewide grand jury report on sexual abuse within Catholic dioceses, including the ones in Greensburg and Pittsburgh, could be an opening for another effort to abolish Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations for child sexual assault.

At least that’s what state Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks County, said he intends to push for when the widely-anticipated report is released.

“It’s definitely going to be a battle,” Rozzi said. “There are people who need this.”

The 47-year-old lawmaker, who accused the late Rev. Edward Graff of molesting him in his Berks County Catholic school when he was 13, believes everyone who has lived through sexual abuse deserves more time to take their case to court.

Texas authorities arrested Graff in October 2002 on charges of molesting a teenage boy. He died a month later at age 73.

Rozzi testified before the statewide grand jury that scrutinized records from six Catholic dioceses across Pennsylvania. The panel is expected to release its report in June.

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