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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Lisa Bennington D-Allegheny |
  
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Bennington holds press conference on Child Victim’s Act
HARRISBURG, May 12 – State Rep. Lisa Bennington, D-Allegheny, today held a press conference to discuss her legislation, known as the Child Victim’s Act of Pennsylvania, which addresses statute of limitations and identifying sex abusers.
The measure, House Bill 1137, would change the age at which a civil suit could be filed from until the accuser is 30 to 50, bringing the civil statute of limitations in line with the criminal statute. The bill would also suspend the civil statute of limitations for two years in child sex abuse cases in which the statute has expired so that people over the age limit could file a suit. And it would allow the filing of such actions against child sex abusers and their enablers in both public and private institutions.
"Particularly in private institutions, offenders have been allowed to move on and continue with their lives elsewhere," Bennington said. "Their victims have been left behind to pick up the pieces, never getting their day in court and or the chance to see justice carried out. They live with this horrific crime for the rest of their lives."
Bennington said Pope Benedict, in his first U.S. visit, called the priest child sex abuse scandal "evil" and "immoral," and said he was deeply ashamed of the pedophilia in the priesthood. He specifically called on the church’s bishops to "address the sin of abuse" as part of a "determined, collective response."
A 2005 Philadelphia Grant Jury Report uncovered 63 priests in the Philadelphia archdiocese who had abused hundreds of children over several decades. In some cases, archdiocese leaders intentionally concealed the abuse to protect the church.
"Based upon the Pope’s own words, bishops and cardinals across the state ought to support the Child Victim’s Act of Pennsylvania rather than opposing it," Bennington said. "Laws requiring the registration of sex offenders are a valuable tool for protecting children. However, pedophiles cannot be registered until they are identified. My bill would shed light upon the unidentified pedophiles who have never been charged with a crime and won’t be, as the statute of limitations has expired.
"My bill does not target the Catholic Church. It pertains to all religious institutions, public schools, youth groups and any other organization where child sex abuse has occurred. This bill would give all Pennsylvania victims their fundamental right to hold those accountable that afflicted or allowed the abuse to occur."
Scheduled speakers: Father Thomas Doyle, advocate and counselor for survivors of child sexual abuse; Al Chesley, former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker; John Salveson, president of the Foundation to Abolish Childhood Sex Abuse; Professor Marci Hamilton, First Amendment scholar and author of "Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children;" and members of the statewide victim community.
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