Tempers flare as child sex abuse reform bill stalls in Senate; victims demand a vote

Victims of child sexual abuse are seething as legislation to create a temporary window to pursue legal action has stalled in the Pennsylvania Senate.

In the latest heated encounter with lawmakers, a handful of victims this week walked out of the office of Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward after they demanded but failed to get a commitment from her to schedule a vote as soon as possible.

“We were in there less than three minutes,” said Patty Fortney-Julius, a victim of clergy sex abuse and advocate for victims. “We thanked her and she told us that she knows how hard this has been on us and that she has tried to sympathize.....but we basically said we are here for one reason. Yes or no? We are not interested in talking. We have heard it all before. Are you going to put it on the floor for a vote?”

Victims and advocates have grown increasingly angry and vocal as the measure seemingly loses traction in the Senate.

In April, the state House of Representatives approved a measure that would establish a two-year retroactive window for time-barred victims to file civil lawsuits against predators or the institutions that ignored their abuse. The measure would allow victims to go to court even if they are years or decades beyond the statutes of limitations. Just a week later, the Senate Judiciary Committee gave its stamp of approval, advancing the bill to the full Senate.

Advocates and victims took heart and hoped to see a swift vote in the Senate, especially after Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, said he supported the legislation. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf has said he would sign such a measure.

However, Ward has yet to schedule the bill to the floor for a vote, even as advocates and victims grow increasingly anxious that another shot at reform will die.

“It’s indefensible that Senator Ward continues to protect predators and the institutions that have shielded them over our children and the thousands of survivors of child sexual abuse who have been promised a look-back window legislation for years,” said Michael and Deborah McIlmail, the parents of Sean McIlmail, a survivor of clergy sex abuse who died several years ago while still awaiting justice. “This bill won’t bring our son back but it will help chart a path forward and expose hidden predators and protect our children today who remain at risk of abuse.”

Ward has not blocked the measure, but continues to consider it, Erica Clayton Wright, spokeswoman for Ward, confirmed to PennLive. The Westmoreland County Republican is researching the issues of the bill’s legality and constitutionality, Wright said.

According to Wright, the victims who attended Tuesday’s closed-door meeting with the senator, grew “frustrated” with her and even threw props at her prior to walking out of the meeting.

Ward declined the requests for an interview with PennLive.

In the height of their exchange with Ward on Tuesday, one of the victims participating in the meeting placed a pouch of silver coins before Ward and labeled her a “Judas.” Ward is a devout Catholic.

Fortney-Julius said the bag of coins was placed on the table in front of her.

“We are not politicians,” said Fortney-Julius, one of five sisters who were sexually abused as children by the family priest from the Diocese of Harrisburg. “We are not professional lobbyists. We are victims trying to get our day in court and trying to expose hidden pedophiles.”

In recent years, the Senate has drilled down into the arguments of the constitutionality of temporarily suspending the statute of limitations, holding a number of hearings.

In 2016, in the wake of the report of the grand jury investigating the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, Senate members heard arguments from experts from both sides of the debate. Then-Solicitor General Bruce Castor, in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, argued that the measure violates the remedies clause in the Pennsylvania Constitution.

That argument has consistently been countered by other law experts, including University of Pennsylvania law professor Marci Hamilton, who has also testified before lawmakers that a retroactive window legislation would be constitutional.

“It’s time for Senator Kim Ward to stop protecting the hidden child sex predators in Pennsylvania,” said Hamilton, founder & CEO of CHILD USA, an advocacy group. “We know from our study of windows across the country that they are life-saving for victims suffering in tortured silence and they protect children now.”

Hamilton points to some two dozen states that have enacted windows for victims beyond the statute of limitations.

Victims in recent weeks have held several rallies at the Capitol and have visited the offices of Senate members to drum up commitment for the proposal, which had moved swiftly through the Legislature, fueling widespread optimism among advocates and victims that reform of the law, after years of defeat and disappointment, was finally at hand.

The legislation would fulfill the recommendations handed by the 40th Statewide Grand Jury, which in 2018, uncovered systemic and widespread sexual abuse of children at the hands of more than 300 Catholic priests.

Over the years, Senate Republicans have defeated the measure, citing concerns over its constitutionality. Some Republicans have argued the only way to create a window for victims is by amending the state Constitution.

A ballot referendum that would have put the question to voters earlier this year had to be abruptly abandoned after the Wolf administration failed to properly advertise the measure in time for the primary. Lawmakers lambasted the Wolf administration, saying the mistake is another roadblock for victims seeking justice.

The Office of State Inspector General this week concluded that there was no evidence that the administration’s mistake was deliberate or the result of “intentional malfeasance”, but more the result of poor executive oversight and staff training. The report found that the Department of State, which oversees elections, had no formal process in place for tracking and ensuring referendums appear on the ballot.

This spring, lawmakers also took the first step in the lengthy process to amend the state Constitution to create a temporary period for victims to seek court action. Lawmakers must also pass the proposed amendment in the next legislative session before it would go to voters for final approval, so it wouldn’t take effect until 2023 at the earliest. While this process take longer, some proponents have said this approach would better position the reforms to withstand legal challenges.

But state lawmakers are pushing to create a window for victims through regular legislation approved by the General Assembly, which would be faster.

Rep. Jim Gregory, a prime sponsor of the bill, on Thursday said the time had come for him to request and audience with Ward to talk about the measure. He said he had yet to speak to her about it.

“That angle of not moving forward because of its constitutionality is somewhat puzzling,” said Gregory, citing Act 192, which was approved by the Legislature in 2014 but struck down by the Commonwealth Court the following year. The controversial law would have allowed any legal gun owner to sue municipalities over gun regulations and force those municipalities to pay attorney fees.

“Was that a consideration before that vote that it could be unconstitutional or did we vote any way,” he said. “If that’s ok then why isn’t this.”

Gregory, himself a victim of child sex abuse, said the Legislature does not have the final world on legislation.

“My emotions range from anger to acceptance to maintaining hope and belief that good will prevail and these folks that are waiting and some are giving up, but every day there are predators out there that haven’t been identified,” he said. “If we could have the opportunity to identify them it takes them out of harms way.”

Gregory told PennLive that in May, a Catholic priest from Cambria County contacted him with regards to the bill.

“He told me not to do this,” Gregory said. “He called me to debate me on the merits of going forward with this.”

In response to a query from PennLive as to the viability of the bill, Corman this week deferred all questions to Ward’s office.

In recent months, Corman had signaled support for the measure and repeatedly expressed empathy for the victims. In April, he noted that while the proposal draws questions on constitutionality, he backed the idea of letting the courts have the say.

“Enough is enough,” Corman said in April. “These poor individuals that have suffered these most heinous crimes ...as a father, I cannot imagine. I don’t even imagine.”

According to Fortney-Julius, when Ward failed to give an immediate response to their question, the victims walked out of the room, but other advocates remained in the room.

Fortney-Julius insists that victims are being portrayed as angry and out of control. She said the victims who met with Ward on Tuesday were calm, but grew agitated when they realized they were getting excuses.

“Yes, we were heated and upset when we left the meeting but we had every right to be,” Fortney-Julius said.

Since 2002, some 24 statute of limitations revival bills have been enacted nationwide. Some jurisdictions have had multiple windows, including California with two, and Hawaii with three. Overall there have been 19 retroactive windows opened by states and five revivals. Vermont has enacted a permanent retroactive window.

Pennsylvania in 2019 eliminated the statute of limitations on child sex crimes. The law does not apply to expired statutes.

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