UNITED STATES
Washington Post
Michelle Boorstein March 3
For advocates of child sex abuse survivors, this has been a dramatic week: On Sunday, the movie “Spotlight” won an Oscar for its depiction of the uncovering of Boston’s clergy abuse scandal, and two days later, a Pennsylvania grand jury report came out alleging a dramatic 40-year cover-up involving dozens of priests and bishops in a small Catholic diocese.
The report, announced Tuesday by Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, relied upon a secret diocesan archive opened this summer and alleges that more than 50 religious leaders abused or moved around or covered up abuse in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese.
As dramatic as the report’s allegations are, however, it does not recommend criminal charges, mainly because the statute of limitations has expired. The same is true for potential civil cases. The contrast between the misdeeds alleged in the report and in “Spotlight” and the lack of charges highlights the ongoing battle over statutes of limitations, which bar cases from going forward after a set time. Survivors and their advocates say the laws are deeply unfair to victims of sex crimes, who often need decades to voice their experience.
Marci Hamilton, a constitutional law scholar at Yeshiva University and prominent attorney for child sex abuse survivors, said advocates are hopeful that lawmakers will see this past week’s as more reason to ease the statutes. State laws vary widely, but in Pennsylvania they ban criminal charges after the victim turns 50, and civil litigation after they turn 30.
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