‘We named names’: Pa. law didn’t cover child sex crime victims. That didn’t stop this D.A.

YORK (PA)
York Daily Record

March 8, 2018

By Joel Shannon

Pennsylvania leads the nation in investigating child sexual abuse. It started when one woman wouldn’t take “no” for an answer while looking into priest abuse.

The document she was about to present to the press was historic: More than 400 pages that described sex crimes against children in horrendous, relentless detail.

More than a decade later, activists credit the report for setting a precedent in Pennsylvania: This state — more than anywhere else in the nation — exposes the truth of child sexual abuse, even if convictions aren’t possible.

The 2005 report received national attention in a recent Newsweek article. It is the subject of a forthcoming documentary entitled Dark Secret. And it is credited as a major influence in an ongoing statewide investigation into sexual abuse of children in the Catholic church.

But as she unveiled the report, Lynne Abraham also likely disappointed many victims.

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