Missouri Supreme Court: No Statute of Limitations in Abuse Case?

The Missouri Supreme Court refused Tuesday to prevent the prosecution of a Catholic priest accused of sodomizing a young boy more than 25 years ago, meaning that other decades-old clergy sex abuse cases across the state can now move forward.

Missouri prosecutors believe the state's law during the 1970s allowed them to file charges at any time. Lawyers on both sides view the [Rev. Thomas] Graham appeal as a test case that could have sweeping effects across the state.

Until the law was replaced on Jan. 1, 1979, it said there was no statute of limitations for crimes that were punishable by "death or by imprisonment in the penitentiary during life."

For Graham, 71, the decision means his case will now move forward in St. Louis Circuit Court.

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