PENNSYLVANIA
WJAC
BY LAUREN HENSLEY FRIDAY, MARCH 4TH 2016
EBENSBURG, Pa.- Local lawmakers rallied at the Ebensburg courthouse Friday, asking for change. They want to abolish the statute of limitations on sex abuse charges. This is following a grand jury report uncovered widespread sex abuse and its cover up across the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.
“These laws could have been passed 15 years ago;And we might not be in this position we are today. We could have saved hundreds of lives. Legislators have failed to act, and that is a fact,” said Rep. Mark Rozzi, (D)-126th District Berks Co.
Rozzi said this mission is personal. The 147-page grand jury report brought him back to his own nightmare. He was sexual abused repeatedly at the hands of a priest in 1983.
“I was never the same again,” Rozzi said.
By the time Rozzi came to terms with his abuse, he was out of time to pursue criminal charges or a civil suit. The statute of limitations ran out for Rozzi, and it’s run out for most of the victims in the grand jury report, which why he is taking a stand.
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