ARE PASTORS REQUIRED TO REPORT CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE?

Q: Are pastors required to report child sexual abuse?

Pastor Bob was recently informed by a youth attending his church, that she was being sexually abused by her uncle who was also an attendee at the church. Pastor Bob confronted the uncle who admitted to inappropriately touching the girl. He repented to Pastor Bob and his niece and has entered into counseling about the matter. Must Pastor Brandon report the child sexual abuse.

A: It depends on what state Pastor Bob lives and works.

At last count, twenty-eight (28) states include clergy among those professionals specifically mandated by law to report known or suspected instances of child abuse or neglect. In addition, eighteen (18) states and Puerto Rico require any person who suspects child abuse or neglect to report it. This inclusive language appears to include clergy, but clergy may interpret those sections as to not apply to them due to the clergy-penitent privilege discussed HERE.

In several states, the legislature has attempted to curb the clergy-penitent privilege as applied to child abuse or neglect. For example, Guam, New Hampshire, and West Virginia deny the clergy-penitent privilege in cases of child abuse or neglect. In addition, four states where “every person” is a mandated reporter (North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Texas) also deny the clergy-penitent privilege in child abuse cases. Over the next several years, it is likely that case law will develop testing whether states can curb the privilege in this manner.

In Virginia, clergy are not enumerated as a mandated reporter, and the clergy-penitent privilege is affirmed within the reporting laws.

So, if Pastor Bob lives in Virginia, he is not required to report the uncle’s admitted sexual molestation of the niece to the authorities. However, even if the state does not require Pastor Bob to make a report, the church can adopt a policy that all pastors, staff members, and volunteers shall report suspected or known cases of abuse. In fact, in the Keeping Them Safe curriculum and policy that I designed with fellow attorney and pastor, Randy Singer, we highly recommend such a policy to the church, requiring that each volunteer, staff member, and pastor report known or suspected child abuse or neglect up the organizational ladder and, eventually, to the proper authorities.

A list of state statutes may be found HERE in information provided by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Children’s Bureau.

For information about Keeping Them Safe and how you can purchase it for your church or school, you can click HERE.

To discover how Reynolds Law Group, PLLC serves churches and non-profits, click below!