MASSACHUSETTS
Republican
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
By BILL ZAJAC
wzajac@repub.com
Legislation that seeks to eliminate the 15-year statute of limitations on sex abuse crimes against children would not be retroactive, according to the bill's chief author.
That means that allegations of sexual crimes made against the Most Rev. Thomas L. Dupre, bishop emeritus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, and others who allegedly abused minors more than 15 years ago would not be prosecutable, according to state Rep. Ronald Mariano, D-Quincy.
"Anything on the books that exceeded the statute of limitations would not be prosecutable," Mariano said.
If the bill passes, it means that sex crimes against children that go back no more than 15 years from the date the bill becomes law would be prosecutable forever, Mariano said.
The announcement Saturday that Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly supports the legislation will help the chances for passage, Mariano said.
"I'm encouraged, because the leading law enforcement officer's support of this carries a lot of weight with a lot of the trial court people who feared it would clog our courts. Now it's up to district attorneys," Mariano said.
Posted by kshaw at March 8, 2005 07:02 AM