child abuse

A former LDS bishop whom a top church official said committed “sexual transgression” with his own daughter was excommunicated after making a religious confession. Recordings obtained by The Associated Press show that instead of helping prosecutors, the church used a legal playbook that keeps sex abuse secret.

Cochise County Superior Court Judge Timothy Dickerson said the state’s clergy-penitent privilege excused two bishops and several other church officials from Arizona’s child sex abuse mandatory reporting law because Paul Adams initially disclosed that he was sexually abusing his daughter during a confession to his bishop.

Attorneys say a California jury has awarded $2.28 billion to a woman who was molested for years by her stepfather.

The effort is an extension of a tour launched by the Interior Department to hear often traumatic stories from Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians who were sent to U.S.-funded boarding schools.

The ruling stems from a child sex abuse lawsuit filed by three children who accused the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of a conspiracy to cover up their abuse by their father, church member Paul Adams.

Seventy-eight-year-old Carl Matthew Johnson was sentenced Thursday on four counts of sexual abuse of a child stemming from his plea deal in January. The judge gave him nine years to life for three first-degree felonies and one to 15 years for a second-degree felony, all to run consecutively.

Behind-the-scenes conversations between legislative leaders and what Senate President Stuart Adams said was “a broad base of religious groups” helped thwart four separate proposals to add clergy to the list of professionals required to report child sexual abuse.

Bateman’s trial was moved to March 5, 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to federal and state charges in Arizona.

The trial date for the leader of a polygamous sect in Arizona had been been scheduled to go on trial Tuesday, but his attorney asked for more time to prepare. The trial now is set to begin March 14.

The details of Samuel Bateman's life were alleged in an FBI affidavit released last Friday. Bateman faces state and federal charges of child abuse and tampering with evidence.

In a court filing in Cochise County, Arizona, made public Wednesday, the children of the late Paul Adams asked an Arizona judge for permission to add Republican state Rep. Merrill F. Nelson and law firm Kirton McConkie as defendants in their lawsuit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints.

Russell Nelson's remarks were the first from a senior church leader on abuse since The Associated Press published an investigation into how the church handles reports of sexual abuse. He spoke at the church's twice-yearly conference that leaders use to reflect on current events and announce changes in doctrine.