Post by trueblue on Aug 20, 2022 17:02:08 GMT
'The Mormon church set up a help line for child sex abuse. Many calls were funneled to the church's lawyers, who 'snuff out' reports: report'
A "help line" established by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was used to bury a report of sex abuse that continued for at least seven years, according to an investigation by The Associated Press.
The report outlined how the Mormon Abuse Help Line could divert serious accusations of abuse away from law enforcement and to church attorneys based in a Salt Lake City law firm. As the case plays out this month, it has called into question what information shared with a member of the clergy is protected.
One Arizona-based bishop, John Herrod, called the line after he learned a 5-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by her father, Paul Douglas Adams. Attorneys would tell the bishop that he was legally required to keep the abuse secret because he learned of the actions during a "spiritual confession," according to The AP.
"They said, 'You absolutely can do nothing,'" Herrod said in a recorded interview with law enforcement reviewed by The AP.
The report outlined how the Mormon Abuse Help Line could divert serious accusations of abuse away from law enforcement and to church attorneys based in a Salt Lake City law firm. As the case plays out this month, it has called into question what information shared with a member of the clergy is protected.
One Arizona-based bishop, John Herrod, called the line after he learned a 5-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by her father, Paul Douglas Adams. Attorneys would tell the bishop that he was legally required to keep the abuse secret because he learned of the actions during a "spiritual confession," according to The AP.
"They said, 'You absolutely can do nothing,'" Herrod said in a recorded interview with law enforcement reviewed by The AP.