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	Longer Limits Needed to Get Child Predators Muskegon Chronicle [Michigan] January 18, 2007 http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-1/116915493297680.xml&coll=8 Two sordid abuse cases involving local priests begs for a review of state limits on the prosecution of sex crimes against children, as we see it. In both instances, the law's reach is limited due to the period of time between the alleged incidents and their reporting to authorities. Statutes of limitation, as these windows for prosecution are known, are grounded in sensible law. Often, if an unreasonable amount of time passes between the criminal act and the bringing of charges, witnesses may have died or moved, memories grow old and the need for justice is less keenly felt. Removing all statutes of limitation would quickly clog up the legal system. Yet there are exceptions, such as the taking of another human life. And there should be others to cover cases such as the ones that have recently rocked the Muskegon Catholic community family. Among those exceptions should be any rape, molestation, torture or first-degree criminal sexual conduct cases where the victim is a minor child. The Muskegon cases concern two priests who have since been removed from their ministries. One has been placed on sabbatical "for health reasons." That priest served in the Muskegon Heights Parish at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in 1976 and 1977, and is accused of sexually abusing young boys. The second accused priest, who also has been defrocked, served at St. Jean Baptiste Catholic Church at the time of the alleged abuse of a young boy who stayed overnight at his home. We say "alleged" in both cases because with no charges having been brought and no trials held, there is still a presumption of innocence. Cases involving children may need additional time to develop legally due to their special and sensitive nature. But the two cases cited above suggest lawmakers need to revisit current statute of limitation laws, with an eye towards changing these if it allows sexual predators getting off the hook for their crimes. Thomas E. Fallon The Chronicle family at-large, and newspapering in general, has lost a dear friend in Tom Fallon, who died last week. Fallon, who served as the former editor of the Bay City Times, had deep roots in Muskegon and at its daily paper, and he was always interested in the doings of his beloved hometown. Fallon was 87 at his death. While at The Chronicle, Fallon was a reporter, assistant sports editor, state editor, assistant city editor and finally city editor in charge of the local news operation. He was Bay City's editor-in-chief from 1969-81. After retirement, Fallon continued in the business as a consultant for Booth Newspapers, then the parent corporation of both The Chronicle and Bay City Times. Fallon will be remembered by surviving veterans of World War II, since it was he who started the popular "In the Service" column in The Chronicle about local men in the Armed Forces. In 1942, Fallon himself enlisted and was assigned to the U.S. Army Air Corps, a forerunner of the U.S. Air Force. Fallon served through the war's duration until 1945 in the European Theater of War, winning a Bronze Star along the way as a radio operator aboard a B-17 bomber "for highly meritorious achievement in support of combat operations against an enemy of the United States." He also made the acquaintance of another enlistee, movie star Clark Gable, whom Fallon pronounced as "only another soldier" among the men. "Now if Shirley Temple had shown up, that might have been different," he once quipped. The ex-city editor was a regular visitor to Muskegon on various charitable endeavors, such as judging the Miss Michigan Pageant or serving as a master of ceremonies for the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame banquet. He was an eloquent speaker who commanded the audience's attention with his wit and sincerity. Occasionally, a reporter or editor would receive a note of praise if Fallon, who watched over things here from Bay City, felt the occasion demanded one. Individuals like Tom Fallon gave The Muskegon Chronicle an extraordinary identity through their ability to reach out to readers, if only because he was one of them. We know those readers who knew Tom will mourn his passing, as we do here at Third and Clay.
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