I'm proud to say that my home state of Pennsylvania is taking big steps to crack down on priestly perverts and pedophiles in general. Yesterday, they voted for sweeping changes to the state's child sex abuse laws, "including some that were recommended by a Philadelphia grand jury that investigated abuse by Roman Catholic priests."
According to a story from ABC affilliate WPVI-TV, "[if] Gov. Ed Rendell signs the bill, victims of child-sex crimes will have until their 50th birthday - 20 years longer than current law allows - to file criminal complaints. Employers and supervisors could be held criminally liable if they know of alleged abuse by employees who care for children but fail to stop it, and caregivers would have to report suspected abuse regardless of whether the victim reports it."
This is a great victory for the victims.
Those who advocate for shorter statutes of limitations say that memories fade over time, and so testimony after 20 or 30 years is not reliable. And, of course, there are numerous documented cases of false memories being instilled in a "victim" by parents or therapists.
However, it seems to me that child abuse is a heinous enough crime that people shouldn't be prevented from bringing charges just because it took more than 20 years to muster the courage. I would think that sexual abuse, especially by a trusted priest or other authority figure, is not something that blurs with time.
I'd love to hear other people's views on this.
No comments:
Post a Comment