YORK (PA)
York Daily Record
December 12, 2018
By Candy Woodall
If they can prove torture, there are no statute of limitations laws to keep child abusers safe.
The days of the Roman Catholic Church policing itself are coming to an end.
Federal prosecutors are digging in to the largest investigation of priest abuse ever conducted in the United States, and the effort starts in Pennsylvania.
The investigation began in Pennsylvania, not Justice Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., court filings show.
U.S. Attorney William McSwain in October launched a case from the Eastern District federal court in Philadelphia. First, he subpoenaed all eight Pennsylvania dioceses. Then, he put every bishop in the U.S. on notice not to destroy any records or evidence.
The federal investigation stems from a Pennsylvania grand jury report released in August that reveals a cover-up of systemic child sex abuse that dates back to 1947. Since that time, 301 priests were found to have abused more than 1,000 victims.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.