ABOVE the announcement for confessions on Tuesday at 7pm, the weekly bulletin for St Rose of Lima’s church near Philadelphia had an unusual notice for parishioners with the heading, “JUST SO YOU ARE AWARE”. It stated that Nick Miccarelli voted in favour of House Bill 1947. The legislation would abolish the criminal statute of limitations for future child sexual abuse cases, including rape, incest and statutory sexual assault. In addition to sitting in the statehouse, Mr Miccarelli is a member of the parish.
Many states are revising their statutes of limitations for assault. Delaware has done so—a wave of lawsuits followed—as has California. New York’s statehouse considered a bill this month that would have extended its statute of limitations by five years. Pennsylvania’s bill would allow civil cases for child sexual abuse to be filed against public and private institutions, and extend the statute of limitations for civil cases from 30 to 50 years (the average male victim does not come forward until he is in his late 30s, women come forward even later on average). The state senate’s judiciary committee is considering whether to send...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/28Z0hNO
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