HARRISBURG (PA)
The Tribune-Democrat
August 30, 2018
By John Finnerty
Pennsylvania has conducted nine grand jury investigations into the handling of child sex abuse cases in the last 15 years.
Almost all of the probes, including the one investigating the actions of six Roman Catholic dioceses across the state that was released Aug. 14, concluded with a call for legislative action to end to the criminal statute of limitations for child sex abuse.
That’s call first came in 2003, when sex abuse crimes in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia were first examined by a grand jury, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the Center for Children’s Justice.
At the time of 2003 investigation, victims had to report abuse before they turned 20. In 2006, the state changed the law to give victims until the age of 50 to seek criminal prosecution in child sex abuse cases.
That remains the statute of limitations a decade later.
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