Push for legislation to follow report on Pa. church sex abuse
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- A renewed push for legislation to abolish Pennsylvania's statute of limitations in sex abuse cases will follow the publication of a sweeping grand jury report on allegations of child sexual abuse within six Roman Catholic dioceses around the state, a lawmaker said Tuesday.
Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, said he will be prepared to seek a vote in the state House of Representatives on legislation that carries provisions sought by victims.
The House two years ago overwhelmingly approved Rozzi's legislation to lift time limits for authorities to pursue charges of child sexual abuse and for those onetime child victims to sue their attackers and institutions that covered it up. Rozzi's bill also would have created a two-year window for victims to sue for damages if they are now older than the current legal age limit.
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Currently, state law bars onetime-child victims from suing for damages if they have turned 30 and it bars authorities from filing criminal charges if the person making the claim of child sexual abuse has turned 50.
The Senate, however, rejected key provisions, including the two-year window. Rozzi, who has told of his own rape as a 13-year-old boy by a Roman Catholic priest, said he is hoping the grand jury's report changes enough minds for his bill to pass the Senate this time around.
"My instinct was if we really want to get what we need here, the public policy that we believe is best for victims, we have to wait for this report to come out and that's going to give us that leverage to not only move his bill through the House, but to put enough pressure" on Senate leaders, Rozzi said.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro could release results of the two-year investigation later this month. Victim advocates say it will be the biggest and most exhaustive ever by a state.
A grand jury judge, in an 11-page opinion last week in which he rejected a challenge to releasing the grand jury report, said it will carry recommendations to change state laws.
Previously released grand jury reports from investigations into the other two Pennsylvania dioceses -- Philadelphia and Altoona-Johnstown -- have advocated lifting the statutes of limitations and allowing a two-year window.
The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference and the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania, which represents for-profit insurers, have opposed allowing a two-year window.
Other states have taken such a step, although some state senators say they believe it to be unconstitutional in Pennsylvania. Advocates say they believe it is constitutional and that courts should be the final judge.
The Senate most recently voted last year to eliminate the statute of limitations in criminal prosecutions. The bill also would remove any time limit for a future victim or a victim who is not yet 30 years old to sue the perpetrator, a co-conspirator or someone who knew of the abuse but failed to report it to authorities.
The Senate bill, however, would not entirely do away with time limits for a victim to sue an institution, such as a church or a school. It caps the victim's age at 50.