PENNSYLVANIA
Fox 43
APRIL 3, 2017, BY MATT MAISEL
HARRISBURG, Pa. — More than 4,000 blue flags line State Street and the steps leading up to the Pennsylvania State Capitol, planted in the dirt and flying to honor survivors of child sex abuse.
April in Child Abuse Prevention Month. On Monday, one of its biggest supporters, State Representative Mark Rozzi, was picking up where he left off last session: advocating for stronger reforms in Pennsylvania’s statute of limitation laws.
Rozzi (D-Berks) was a victim of sexual abuse when he was a child. Now, an outspoken critic of the state’s current laws, Rozzi was joined Monday by dozens of fellow child sex abuse victims; mothers, fathers, and adults who shared their stories on the Capitol steps of how they, or their children, were victimized years ago.
On Tuesday, the State House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear and vote on Senate Bill 261. The legislation, sponsored by President Senator Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson), would eliminate the statute of limitations on criminal prosecution of child sex abuse cases. SB261 would also give child victims until age 50 to bring a civil lawsuit against institutions, such as the church, or a school.
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