YORK (PA)
York Daily Record
August 16, 2018
By Candy Woodall
Decades before a grand jury report made them public, at least 40 Pennsylvania priests confessed to sex crimes against children, often without facing any legal or professional consequences.
Now many won’t ever have to face charges unless Pennsylvania changes state law to extend its statute of limitations. At present, child victims have until age 50 to pursue criminal charges, which requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt to convict, and age 30 — 12 years after they turn 18 — to file a civil suit, according to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, which advocates for sexual-assault victims.
“There’s no doubt victims out there deserve some type of compensation for what happened to them,” said state Rep. Mark Rozzi, a Democrat from Muhlenberg Township who was abused by a priest in the Allentown Diocese when he was a child. “There’s no doubt that the church has put the liability on the victims for way too long.”
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