November 11, 2005

Extending abuse law argued

COLUMBUS (OH)
The Cincinnati Post

Associated Press

COLUMBUS - The chairman of the Ohio House Judiciary Committee said he hadn't decided what to do next about a bill that would give victims of past sex abuse a new chance to sue.

After 60 minutes of debate Thursday, doubts remained about the legality of a provision to open a one-year window in which a victim could bring a lawsuit over sexual abuse going back as far as 35 years.

Chairman John Willamowski, R-Lima, said he'll gauge the opinions of committee members before deciding what to do next. Only two of the members said they supported the bill as written.

The Senate-passed bill is opposed by the Roman Catholic Church, which already has paid millions of dollars to settle lawsuits stemming from sex abuse by priests.

Posted by kshaw at November 11, 2005 08:42 AM