Judge says Mormon church can' t withhold information in abuse case - Axios Salt Lake CityLog InLog InAxios Salt Lake City is an Axios company.

Judge says Mormon church can' t withhold information in abuse case

The spires of the historic Salt Lake Temple are shown on April 2, 2016, in Salt Lake City. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images) A judge in Arizona ruled that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can't withhold information in a sex abuse lawsuit under the state's "clergy-penitent privilege." Driving the news: The man, who died in 2017, posted footage of himself abusing his daughters and bragged about it online, so he effectively waived his own confidentiality, the judge ruled.The ruling doesn't decide whether church officials were obligated to report the man despite religious exemptions in the state's abuse-reporting requirement. Catch up fast: The church has been under scrutiny since an this month showed it used its 24-7 hotline to stop bishops from reporting a confessed child rapist to police in Arizona.The man's bishop said church officials told him he could "absolutely do nothing" because state law required him to keep the man's confession confidential. State of play: The church on Wednesday again at the AP's coverage of the Arizona case, claiming "egregious errors in reporting."But the church still about how its abuse "helpline" directed bishops to not report child abusers and records of abuse reports were destroyed. What they're saying: The church's latest statement argues that the man made only a "limited confession" in 2011, so neither the church nor the bishop knew "the full extent of the abuse."But the AP reported that in a recorded interview with law enforcement, the bishop said he asked the man's wife whether the abuse was ongoing and asked, "What are we going to do to stop it?"Court documents obtained by Axios also show an investigator said the bishop acknowledged the abuse had occurred "numerous times." The other side: The church and its defenders argue church attorneys use the helpline to instruct bishops to "comply with whatever recording is required by law." Yes, but: Arizona allows clergy to keep confessions of child abuse confidential, but does not require it.It also immunizes those who report from prosecution and lawsuits. Of note: Vandalism appeared this week on church buildings in Sandy and Draper, with the messages "Save the kids" and "Predators welcome," . Get more local stories in your inbox with .Subscribe Support local journalism by becoming a member.

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