This session I will be re-introducing 2 pieces of legislation that would provide a 2-year look-back window for the survivors of childhood sexual abuse, whose statute of limitations has expired, to seek just compensation from their abusers by bringing their case in Pennsylvania’s judicial system.  

 

Many of you are familiar with the history of these legislative proposals, which have received repeated, bipartisan affirmative votes in both the Pennsylvania House and Senate in 2019, 2021, and again in 2023. And yet, a decade after this proposal was first introduced, the perpetrators of crimes that leave lifelong invisible scars remain protected from the due process of justice. 

 

In 2019 the General Assembly passed HB962 (Act 87 of 2019), which eliminated the statute of limitations for filing criminal charges against individuals who are accused of having sexually assaulted someone under the age of 18. This law also extended the statute of limitations for civil suits for childhood sexual abuse until the victim achieves the age of 55. While this legislation was a monumental achievement, there still exists a class of survivors who are denied their day in court. 

 

There are many reasons that this proposal has not yet been enacted, some more meritorious than others. But whether it is partisanship, clerical error, or any other reason, the responsibility of the failure to enact this commonsense and bipartisan measure rests squarely at the feet of the General Assembly. In this new session, we have the opportunity to do the right thing for those survivors of childhood sexual abuse who remain outside the scope of Act 87 of 2019. It is my hope that you will join us in supporting this legislation.