Abuse cases

The Post-Gazette recently published the article “A Tale of Two States on Clergy Abuse Prosecutions” (Nov. 19), comparing the prosecution of priests in other states to their prosecution in Pennsylvania. While some states do not have a statue of limitations for prosecuting such acts, Pennsylvania does.

Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations was reformed in 2006 to allow prosecution to move forward for sex abuse cases up until the victim’s 50th birthday, but this does not apply retroactively. The Pennsylvania grand jury that published the report on Catholic Church sex abuse recommended that the statute of limitations be abolished for child sex abuse, and our Attorney General Josh Shapiro has backed this effort.

However, the move to eliminate the statute of limitations for child sex abuse, as well as to provide a temporary window for victims to bring retroactive civil suits against abuser priests, failed in the Pennsylvania Senate.

As a law student, I have read some grisly cases of sexual abuse and abuse of power, but almost none is so tragic as the cases where a trusted spiritual adviser breaks his trust with a child and abuses him sexually. This abuse wreaks havoc on a young child, devastating him and filling him with many emotions such as guilt, remorse and pain for a crime he did not commit.

The Pennsylvania Senate must enact legislation to protect victims of these atrocious crimes and to send a message to abusers that we as Pennsylvanians stand behind victims.

DEVIN THOMAS SLAUGENHAUPT

Oakland

The writer is a student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.