criminaljustice. the documents that we ve obtained from this trial show judges concluded there was no doubt about the veracity of the accusations, but ruled a trial couldn t proceed because, under italy s cumbersome legal system, the crimes had expired under a time limit, or statute of limitations, which has allowed countless other sex abuse cases to go unpunished. italian law is currently being reformed so the statute of limitations can no longer be used to string out or obstruct a trial. but the reform doesn t apply retrospectively. mario s lawyer says the deeper problem is with italy s constitution and the 1929 lateran pact.