HARRISBURG (PA)
Patriot News
Nov. 18, 2019
By Kathryn Robb and Marci Hamilton
There is a dark chill in the air. And, it is not the advancing cold winds of Old Man Winter.
It is the bitter chill of injustice.
That chill is swirling in the chambers of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, as legislative leaders continue to fail victims of child sexual abuse and the future safety of the children of this Commonwealth.
Many Pennsylvanians, and indeed, many Americans, were appalled when Attorney General Josh Shapiro released the chilling Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report in August 2018, detailing the abuse by 301 priests accused of sexually assaulting over 1000 young children.
However, what may be lost in the minds of many citizens and in the headlines of faded newspapers, is that another report was released in 2005. In September 2005, the Philadelphia Grand Jury released a 400-page report on child sexual abuse in the Philadelphia Archdiocese, the report revealed shocking facts about the horrific grooming and sexual abuse committed on hundreds of children by dozens of priests.
Many of these dangerous predators were carelessly shuffled from parish to parish, and community to community, with no warning to trusting parents and the public at large. That report was released almost 15 years ago, all the while the legislature took no action. How many children were sexually assaulted by unidentified predators during that period?
We’ll never know exactly, but the social science data indicates that everyday approximately 160 children fall victim to sexual assault. Given the science, the number of children harmed during this 15-year period of legislative inaction is undoubtedly high.
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