HARRISBURG, PA — The Pennsylvania Senate on November 18 voted in favor of legislation that would update the statute of limitations on cases involving sexual abuse, especially child sexual abuse.

Sexual abuse survivors had been advocating for the changes for years. The effort received new energy in 2018 when attorney general Josh Shapiro issued a grand jury report that uncovered sexual abuse committed by thousands of priests dating back to the 1940s.

The House had previously approved most of the measures and Gov. Tom Wolf has said he would sign them.

One of the most significant changes in the law is that there will now be no statute of limitations on the prosecution of people who commit sexual abuse against children. An amendment was offered by Democrats that would have abolished a statute of limitations against all sex abuse victims, but that amendment failed. The statute of limitations in cases of adult sexual abuse will be increased from the current 12 years to 20 years under an amendment introduced by Sen. Lisa Baker.

The new law will allow child victims and victims aged 18 to 23 to bring a civil suit against an abuser up until the victim turns 55 years or age.
“What we learned was the arbitrary age thresholds established years ago no longer are sufficient to deal with the horrific and widespread cases of abuse that continue to surface,” Sen. Baker said. “Recent research findings and the testimony provided during our judiciary committee work tell us there is another age group of victims who deserve access to the remedies we intend to provide those below 18 years of age.”

The Senate also approved a constitutional amendment that would allow survivors of sexual abuse a two-year window to sue a past abuser of any age. Before becoming law, the House and Senate will need to approve the amendment again next year, and then it would have to be approved by the voters.