SUNBURY (PA)
The Daily Item
October 12, 2018
Individuals silenced for decades by shame and confusion of sex abuse must be heard. The State House has done it’s part. The focus now shifts to the Senate and the ever-ticking clock to revise Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations regarding sex abuse crimes.
This should be simple. Victims of criminal sexual abuse — including those whose courage is outlined in more than 1,000 pages of a state grand jury report on 300 “predator” Catholic priests across the commonwealth — deserve nothing less.
When it reconvenes next week for its final three scheduled legislative days before November’s election, the Senate seems more likely to move a new piece of legislation than amend a version that passed the House last month. The House version was praised by victims and advocates.
The House reform raises the age to file lawsuits from 30 to 50 years of age and eliminates the statute of limitation entirely for criminal prosecutions. Additionally, there would be a two-year window to allow sex abuse survivors — whose trauma occurred decades ago — to file a civil lawsuit.
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