JOHNSTOWN (PA)
Tribune-Democrat
May 19, 2019
If the Republican leaders in the Pennsylvania Senate won’t step up and take action on behalf of sexual abuse victims who are beyond the statute of limitations, then others – including Wayne Langerholc of Richland Township – must push their stubborn colleagues aside and drive this important issue.
As Sunday’s CNHI in-depth report “The Cost of Abuse” shows, several options have been put forth to give those victims a pathway to justice.
Proposals in Harrisburg would address the plight of abuse victims – including those whose attackers were members of the clergy – through either a legislative change in the law or a movement to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution.
State House reporter John Finnerty’s relentless efforts to interview the Senate’s GOP leadership for this project garnered a repeated “no thanks” from Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, while Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, commented only when cornered in a Capitol hallway.
Corman called any change in how the state handles cases of adults who were sexually abused as children “special legislation” that would need to be referred to the Senate judiciary committee.
Last year, the state House overwhelmingly approved a bill that would provide a two-year window for abuse victims to file civil action. The statute of limitations now denies victims who have reached the age of 30 that right – and age 50 for criminal cases.
The 2018 bill never made it onto the Senate floor for a vote.
But we’re seeing some signs in 2019 that a subtle shift is happening in the Senate.
Republican Langerholc said he “would support a window. I’ve been on record with that before. We need to come together to get something done. It’s something that’s been languishing and needs to be addressed.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.