Pennsylvania Sexual Abuse Lawsuits

Pennsylvania passed new legislation in December of 2019, improving the laws for survivors of sexual abuse. Below you will find Pennsylvania lawsuits news & updates, as well as additional information on Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations laws. These laws are important because they dictate how long a lawyer handling a Pennsylvania sexual assault case has to file a claim on behalf of a survivor. In addition, we’ve compiled a list of Pennsylvania settlements and jury awards received by sexual abuse and assault survivors and a list of Pennsylvania’s ‘credibly’ accused priests released by the dioceses.

Pennsylvania Statute of Limitations for Sexual Abuse & Assault

Pennsylvania was previously viewed as one of the least friendly states when it came to its statute of limitations laws (SOLs) for sex crimes against minors. However, PA legislators in November of 2019 reformed the childhood sex abuse laws. Of the 4 new recommendations set forth by the government, 3 new bills were passed and signed into law. Read more below.

Criminal Statute of Limitations Laws for Pennsylvania

In 2005 Pennsylvania extended its SOL to age 50 for crimes related to sexual abuse involving a minor, but prior to the November 2019 reforms, was one of the only states that hadn’t eliminated it completely for felonies. The new bill abolishes the state’s criminal SOL on future cases of childhood sexual abuse. The other bill signed into law, also related to the criminal SOL, was aimed at penalizing those who are considered ‘mandated reporters.’ Under the new law those who fail to report child abuse to law enforcement can be prosecuted. Child USA, who has evaluated every state based on their criminal statute of limitation laws, gave Pennsylvania a Criminal SOL score of 3, on a 1-5 scale, where 5 is the highest. A score of 3 is defined as a criminal SOL eliminated for felonies only.

Civil Statute of Limitations Laws for Pennsylvania

The November 2019 bills also extended the civil SOL for childhood sex abuse from age 30 to age 55. The one recommendation that was not passed into law involved adding a 2-year revival window that would have allowed older victims, whose claims were previously time-barred due to SOL, to file civil suits. Those opposed argued that doing so might be unconstitutional and therefore could open up the legislation to a lengthy court battle.

That said, advocates for this window did not give up. The new plan to avoid the unconstitutionality of the bill is to amend the constitution itself. While both the House and Senate approved the amendment, a blunder by the department of state prevented the bill from appearing on the May 2021 ballot. Now the earliest that victims could expect to see this particular bill added to the ballot would be in 2023. After the state department’s failure, proponents of a revival window then introduced another bill, titled ‘Gregory’s bill’, in honor of the author who openly shared his story of being a child sex abuse survivor. While the bill passed in the House on April 7, 2021, as of June 2021, State Republican leaders have declined to hold a final vote on the proposed legislation, again, claiming issues with the state’s constitution.

Child USA, who has also evaluated every state based on their civil statute of limitation laws, gave Pennsylvania a Civil SOL Age Cap score of 4, on a 1-5 scale, where 5 is the highest. A score of 4 is defined as a civil SOL age cap for survivors age 50 and older.

If you or someone you love was sexually abused or assaulted in Pennsylvania, contact us now. Those sexually abused as a minor may still have a claim against their abuser, no matter how long ago the abuse occurred. Even if the abuser is deceased, you may still have a claim against the organization responsible. Don’t wait to file your claim.