PENNSYLVANIA
The Morning Call
Steve EsackContact Reporter
Call Harrisburg Bureau
Pa. House committee passes bill to toughen criminal and civil penalties against child abusers
HARRISBURG — One month after a state attorney general’s report accused two Catholic bishops of allowing priests to molest and rape children with impunity, a group of lawmakers has gotten tougher on child sex abuse.
A bill that passed the House Judiciary Committee by a 26-1 margin Tuesday would make it harder for some child sex abusers — and employers who protect them — to escape criminal and civil penalties.
But critics say the bill does not go far enough because it would only affect future crimes against children and does not help past victims with no legal recourse to seek justice.
The bill would treat future child sex-abuse crimes like murder, which can be prosecuted any time, by dropping the 30-year statute of limitations on when criminal sex-abuse charges can be filed.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.