Rally for reform planned in Harrisburg

PENNSYLVANIA
WFMZ

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Survivors of child sexual abuse and their advocates will converge on Harrisburg next week. They plan to rally at the Capitol on Monday to support efforts to get a pair of statute of limitations bills moved to the full House of Representatives for a vote.

Delilah Rumburg, the CEO of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, will host the rally and news conference, along with Rep. Mark Rozzi, a Berks County Democrat and survivor of child sexual abuse, who will emcee the event.

It’s set to start at 1:30 p.m. in the main Capitol rotunda.

One of the bills under consideration would eliminate the statute of limitations for criminal and civil cases of child sex abuse; the other would create a two-year window for past victims to have the opportunity to file civil lawsuits.

The rally comes on the heels of a grand jury report released last week by Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane. According to investigators, hundreds of children in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese were sexually abused for at least 40 years, and religious leaders worked to cover it up. The case can not be prosecuted because the statute of limitations expired.

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