SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In the wake of the Diocese of Sacramento's release of the list of clergy who were credibly accused of sexual abuse, many people have been asking questions on whether or not criminal charges could be brought against the accused.
ABC10 caught up with former Federal Prosecutor William Portanova to get some answers.
Q. What are the chances that any of the listed clergy are charged?
A. It's not going to result in criminal prosecutions. These are old cases. They are beyond the statute of limitations. There's no chance that these people will be prosecuted. This behavior simply took place too long ago.
RELATED: Sacramento Catholic Diocese Abuse List: Here's where priests were during years of reported abuse
Q. Are there any exceptions to the statute of limitations?
A. Murder, kidnapping, and rape. Unfortunately for the rape cases, that statute didn't become a "forever statute" until 2017. So, for any statute of limitations that begin running in the past, if they have expired before 2017, you can't go back and bring them back to life. They're dead.
Q. What's your advice to survivors who are struggling to cope with everything?
A. People who hang on to the anger and the bitterness for a lifetime, hoping to see the person on death row get executed...they carry a dark bitterness inside them. It's not healthy. If you talk to a psychiatrist, they'll tell you to let it go. Let it go and move on. Some may say to pray, which in this case is a bit ironic.
Continue the conversation with Kevin on Facebook.
________________________________________________________________