READING — Pennsylvania overhauled its child sexual abuse laws Tuesday, more than a year after a grand jury report showed the cover-up of hundreds of cases of abuse in Roman Catholic dioceses over the last seven decades.

The central bill signed by Gov. Tom Wolf gives future victims of child sex abuse more time to file lawsuits and to end time limits for police to file criminal charges.

The grand jury report spurred several states to change their laws and other states to begin similar investigations.

Wolf said the new laws will help repair “faults in our justice system that prevent frightened, abused children from seeking justice when they grow into courageous adults.”

The legislative package was based on recommendations in last year's report regarding six of eight dioceses in the state.

Wolf signed bills to invalidate secrecy agreements that keep child sexual abuse victims from talking to investigators, and to increase penalties for people who are required to report suspected abuse but fail to do so. “It allows us to pursue very old claims for people who were abused. You're talking about an act that screwed people up for life so they should reach back and get right by the people who wronged them,” said state Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-60th. “The core function of government is to protect citizens. Protection takes many forms and this is one of them.”

Pyle also said he expects the legislature to produce more bills to address child sex abuse and commended state Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-126th, a champion of the legislation. “Mark Rozzi worked so hard on this and now its time has come and we'll see where it takes us and we'll react accordingly,” Pyle said.

He said the support of the bills as proof that the state's two major parties can work together.

“You gotta pick out what's good and bad, not what color it is. Red and blue don't matter,” Pyle said. “Strength of the idea is what wins the day. I don't think this package is done yet.”

Wolf signed the bills at Muhlenberg High School in Reading, the home district of Rozzi, who has spoken publicly about being raped as a 13-year-old by a Roman Catholic priest.

“We know our work is not done today; it's going to continue,” Rozzi said.

The main bill in the package ends any statute of limitations, in future cases, for criminal prosecution of major child sexual abuse crimes. Current law limits it to the victim's 50th birthday.

Victims would have until they turn 55 to sue, compared to age 30 in current law. Young adults ages 18-23 would have until age 30 to sue, where existing law gives them just two years.

Police could file criminal charges up to 20 years after the crime when young adults 18-23 years old are the victims, as opposed to 12 years after the crime for victims over 17 in current law.

About two dozen states have changed their laws on statutes of limitations this year, according to Child USA, a Philadelphia-based think tank that advocates for child protection.

New Jersey lawmakers expanded the civil statute of limitations from two to seven years. The bill opened a two-year window, which starts Dec. 1, to victims who were previously barred by the statute of limitations.

Eagle staff writer Eric Jankiewicz contributed to this report.