For more than 16 months, Pennsylvania legislators have been pushing for a law that would provide victims of childhood sexual abuse more time to file civil suits or criminal complaints against their alleged abusers. The proposal would actually eliminate the statute of limitations for criminal prosecutions and extend the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits an additional 20 years.
Recently, with the national spotlight on Pennsylvania between Jerry Sandusky and the Penn State sex-abuse scandal and Monsignor William J. Lynn and the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia child sex-abuse cover-up the stalled legislation moved forward.
