PENNSYLVANIA
The Daily Item
By John Finnerty CNHI Harrisburg Bureau
HARRISBURG — With the state House poised to take up legislation to reform the state statute of limitations for child sex abuse cases, supporters are preparing a final push to make the bill cover old sex crimes and not just future abuse.
The state Senate unanimously passed a statute of limitations bill last month that would give victims until the age of 50 to file lawsuits against abusers or their employers if there were allegations of cover-ups.
Under current law, victims have until the age of 30 to sue for old sex crimes. The Senate bill also eliminates the statute of limitations entirely for criminal investigations of child sex abuse.
But controversially, the measure provides no retroactive relief. If the statute of limitations has expired on old child sex cases, the law change doesn’t help those victims seek justice.
The House judiciary committee is scheduled to take up the Senate bill on Tuesday. Ahead of that vote, supporters of an effort to get a retroactive window opened for victims of old child sex crimes will rally Monday at the Capitol. The push for rewriting the rules regarding how long victims have to sue for child abuse reignited last spring after revelations that the Catholic Diocese of Johnstown-Altoona had covered up decades of abuse of children by priests. On Monday, a busload of victims and their supporters is expected to travel from Johnstown to join the Capitol rally.
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