PENNSYLVANIA
WITF
Written by Mary Wilson, Capitol Bureau Chief | Apr 6, 2016
State lawmakers are taking heat from Pennsylvania’s Office of Victim Advocate for their latest efforts to change the statutes of limitations in child sex abuse cases.
Jennifer Storm said she supports a House plan to abolish the time limit for criminal child sex abuse cases, but she’s not thrilled that lawmakers are merely extending the statute of limitations on civil cases, giving victims until they’re 50 instead of 30 years old to file suit.
Storm said that will add to the confusion surrounding Pennsylvania’s statutes of limitations in child sex abuse cases.
“You have to literally have a calendar and a calculator to determine which victims have which rights,” said Storm.
She also said she’s disappointed the proposal doesn’t apply to adult victims of sexual assault, some of whom can also take years to report such incidents.
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.