State Supreme Court says clergy can’t flee allegations by leaving state
Clergy members cannot escape old sexual abuse allegations by fleeing Wisconsin before the statute of limitations expires.
Clergy members cannot escape old sexual abuse allegations by fleeing Wisconsin before the statute of limitations expires.
That’s what the State Supreme Court ruled Thursday in the case of Father Bruce MacArthur, 86, of St. Louis.
He said he should have never been charged in 2006 with the molesting of two girls at a hospital in Beaver Dam, where he served as a chaplain from 1965-72.
The statute of limitations law was changed in 1989, but for crimes that happened before then the clock stops ticking when a suspect leaves Wisconsin.
A support group for priest abuse victims says the court ruling upholds charges in about 15 cases against pastors who fled the Badger State, including three cases that have trials pending.
Tags: wisconsin, priest, abuse, statute, of, limitations
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