SPRINGFIELD (MA)
Republican
Monday, September 26, 2005
On Sept. 24, 2004, Thomas L. Dupre, leader of the 270,000 Roman Catholics in Western Massachusetts, became the first Roman Catholic bishop in the United States to be indicted on child rape charges.
Just hours after the indictments were unsealed, District Attorney William M. Bennett said that he could not prosecute the case because the charges were too old.
The Dupre case illuminates the need for legislation to lift the statute of limitations for sexual crimes against children so that victims can confront their abusers in court.