DENVER (CO)
Rocky Mountain News
By Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News
February 16, 2006
The Archdiocese of Denver - and other private institutions - got a break Wednesday in one of three sex-abuse bills before the legislature.
Rep. Rosemary Marshall, D-Denver, agreed to take out a provision that would have removed the statute of limitations for filing civil lawsuits. The provision would have made private institutions liable forever for the actions of a sexual predator.
As it stands now, House Bill 1088 still extends the statute of limitations in criminal cases, but that affects only a perpetrator, not his employer.
"That is an enormous change," said Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, leader of a group of 26 Republican lawmakers who asked Marshall to amend her bill. "As it was written, the bill would have made (institutions) liable indefinitely. By removing the provision as she did, she still holds criminals accountable for their crime."