Pa. House Approves Tougher Rules On Child Sexual Abuse Reporting
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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP/KDKA) - The Pennsylvania House is approving tougher penalties for people who don't report suspicions about repeated child sexual abuse and it's clarifying that nondisclosure agreements can't prevent people from talking to police in child molestation investigations.
Lawmakers on Wednesday voted for a proposal that could also eliminate the statute of limitations when mandated reporters fail to properly report ongoing abuse. The vote was 162 to 22.
They also unanimously approved a bill that requires nondisclosure agreements to specify that they do not prohibit cooperating with police.
Both bills were sent to the Senate.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro issued the following statement after the House vote:
"With today's votes, the PA House of Representatives has now passed all four of the reforms recommended last August by a Grand Jury investigating child sexual abuse and cover up in the Catholic church," Attorney General Shapiro said. "While the path of a constitutional amendment adds unnecessary delay for victims, this is a clear step forward.
"The Pennsylvania Grand Jury's report documented decades of child sexual abuse, identifying 301 predator priests and thousands of victims. Our work sparked a reckoning across the country, with at least 16 states and the U.S. Department of Justice opening clergy sex abuse investigations.
"Just as our Commonwealth was a leader in investigating and prosecuting clergy sexual abuse, it is imperative that Pennsylvania also now be a leader in enacting reforms to protect victims and ensure this kind of abuse and cover-up can never happen again. I stand with survivors as we urge the Pennsylvania Senate to swiftly pass the Grand Jury reforms."
Both proposals are based on recommendations in a grand jury report last year into sexual abuse of children by about 300 Roman Catholic priests in the state, going back seven decades.
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