PENNSYLVANIA
York Daily Record
Kristen Pfautz Woolley June 22, 2016
The Catholic Church and others stand in the way of reforming Pa.’s child sex abuse statute of limitations.
I am not Catholic.
I am a survivor of child sexual abuse. From the ages 10-12, I was repeatedly violated by a man my parents trusted. My abuse only ended when my abuser became engaged to be married. I remember feeling relief that my nightmare was over; now someone else would take care of my abuser’s sexual needs. I didn’t understand at age 12 it was not over, nor would it ever be over. I did not understand that my abuse was something I would have to learn to carry.
My first lesson that it would never end came when I was 17. It had been five years since I had seen my abuser. I ran into him at a local town carnival. There he was pushing his newborn child in a stroller. He creepily proceeded to tell me how much he enjoyed changing the child’s diapers because he found it fascinating to look at the child’s anatomy – a flashback-inducing conversation that sent a cold chill down my spine. I was left paralyzed in fear. This was his own child he was talking about.
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