PENNSYLVANIA
The Morning Call
Bill White
California man demonstrates importance of court access for child sex abuse victims
I got an email this morning from a San Diego man who wanted people in Pennsylvania to know how his state’s statute of limitations reform bill helped him and that the tactics being used to fight a statute bill here are similar to those he has seen elsewhere.
California legislators in 2002 voted to open a one-year window for all child sex abuse victims to file suits, even if they were blocked by the statute of limitations. Paul Livingston and his brother — abused as small children by the same Catholic school custodian — were among the victims who filed suit, and the court settlement with the Los Angeles Archdiocese helped Paul finally get help with the aftermath of his abuse.
This reinforces one of the most important points in these efforts to give more victims access to the civil courts. When they’re blocked by statutes of limitations, the cost of treating their problems — and the social cost of leaving the damage untreated — must be borne by the victims and by society at large. The people responsible are left unscathed.
These bills — including House Bill 1947 in Pennsylvania, now being considered by the state Senate after overwhelmingly passing in the House — have the potential to change that.
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