Since the initial reports of the Pennsylvania Catholic Church sex abuse scandal, thousands of abuse allegations have flooded the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office.

The Catholic church sexual abuse report was released by a grand jury in August 2018, with over 1,000 victims alleging they had been victimized by priests or other Catholic church officials in Pennsylvania.

The grand jury reportedly reviewed six of eight dioceses in Pennsylvania. They reported that priests or other church officials were allegedly responsible for numerous incidents of Catholic church sexual abuse and that it was covered up by church leaders.

According to Pennsylvania’s current Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the sexual abuse hotline in his office has received 1,181 calls of alleged incidents in the following weeks after he went public with the grand jury report.

Shapiro stated that he has also received calls from other attorneys general in 40 other states, each of which want to launch their own investigation into Catholic church sex abuse. For example, attorneys general in Missouri and Illinois launched their own investigation just 10 days after the release of the Pennsylvania report, with the Michigan Attorney General following soon after.

Furthermore, the United States Department of Justice recently contacted the top prosecutor in Pennsylvania to further discuss the Catholic church sexual abuse allegations.

Overview of Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Problems

It has been pointed out that even though numerous victims have come forward, many of their cases cannot be prosecuted due to the statute of limitations.

Recommendations include abolishing the statute of limitations for adult victims who suffered sexual abuse as children, impose stricter or clearer laws regarding penalties that could incur from failing to report child abuse.

In addition, prohibiting law enforcement from signing “non disclosure” or other confidential agreements in exchange for not pursuing sex abuse charges was also recommended.

While there have been suggestions for extending the period for the statute of limitations and to create a retroactive two year filing period for survivors for civil filings, there are no legal remedies in place yet.

In Harrisburg, all but two priests named in the grand jury report were immune from legal action due to the statute of limitations. Pennsylvania is one of 11 states that have criminal statute of limitations regarding child sexual abuse, which Shapiro stated had greatly impacted victims and the ability to bring charges against these sexual predators.

The Pennsylvania Catholic church sex abuse investigation lasted two years and had allegedly discovered that 301 “predator priests” had abused at least 1,000 children for over seven decades. These alleged incidents of Catholic church sexual abuse were reportedly covered up by church officials.

In addition, the Philadelphia Attorney General’s office argued before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for the release of the complete report that named all of the two dozen clergy members. The report released in August had these names blacked out, and it is currently unknown how the Supreme Court will rule.

Shapiro stated that this is merely one of the latest attempts by the church leaders to block legal action, and to further cover up ongoing Catholic church sexual abuse.

If you or a loved one was the victim of sex abuse by a Catholic priest or church leader in California, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Illinois or Missouri, legal help is available. You may qualify to file a Catholic Church sex abuse lawsuit. Fill out the FREE form on this page for more information.

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