PENNSYLVANIA
Reading Eagle
May 28, 2020
By Karen Shuey
Berks County lawmaker Mark Rozzi filed a lawsuit this week against the Allentown Diocese and Holy Guardian Angels Parish in Reading, alleging that he was sexually abused by a priest when he was 13 years old.
The Muhlenberg Township Democrat has been open about channeling his struggle with the memory of the incident into fighting for legislation in the General Assembly that would allow victims to seek justice after the statute of limitations on such claims has expired. He has even championed a proposal that would amend the state constitution to get that done.
In the meantime, Rozzi is taking advantage of an apparent statute of limitations loophole to file his lawsuit.
In a similar case, a woman was allowed by the state Superior Court to file a claim against the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown despite exceeding the statute of limitations. The three-judge panel ruled in August that if a jury finds sufficient evidence that the defendant, in this case the church, fraudulently concealed information then the defendant cannot have a case thrown out because of expired statute of limitations.
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