Child molesters are completely forgiven, eventually get their priesthood rights fully restored, and are put back in to full trust with the children in the ward as soon as possible. If no one knows and there is no public scandal, instead of giving the child guidance and counseling, the bishop will keep the secret, even from the police and courts. No one says anything to the child's parents or to the child. Most ward members never find out and therefore they trust the child molestor with their children (even though the Bishop knows and keeps the secret). That's one of the things that makes the mormon church a cult.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2018 11:08PM by azsteve.
States have reporting laws. Certain people such as teachers, child care workers,etc. are mandated reporters if they suspect physical, sexual or emotional abuse.
The Church avoids calling mandatory reporters as Bishops or Stake Presidents. The Church operates a counseling hotline for Bishops. Their advice to Bishops is to only inform civil authorities the minimum required by law.
I am pretty sure that when it comes to clergy, if someone goes to the Bishop with complaints or suspicions of child abuse, the Bishop has to report it to the police in most states. On the other hand, if the abuser goes to their Bishop and confesses to child molesting and no one else complains about it, the Bishop doesn't have to report it. So the innocent child doesn't get any counseling or other victem's assistance, because both the Bishop and the perpetrator fear the possibility of legal prosecution for the crime against the perpetrator if the perpetrator confesses to the child or to the child's parents. The Bishop will also take extreme efforts to talk the victim or their parents out of prosecuting if they can, if the secret even makes it to the parents or if the child ever speaks up about it.
My home teaching companion in my teens was also the Ward Clerk. We home-taught families with kids. His wife baby-sat one of my sister's children. Several years later, I found out from friends that he went to prison for child molesting. The molestations happened before he was my home teaching companion. Some people in the ward told me with a skeptical tone that he'd repented decades earlier. My question is about how he could have possibly repented without confessing to the victem's parents and to the victem, before the church considered him as having repented and restoring him to full fellowship. Instead, the child had to grow up and become an adult before they started talking about it. The church policies made the problem worse.
Here is what _should_ happen when a member is accused of child sexual abuse: the member _should_ be removed from any calling dealing with children immediately.
If the member confesses to sexually molesting a child, then the member _may_ be excommunicated. The Bishop _may_ decide that the member must not attend that ward. It _may_ be possible for the member to attend another ward (with restrictions accompanying any Church discipline).
If the member is convicted of sexually molesting a child, then the member _should_ be excommunicated. The Church is under no legal obligation to excommunicate a convicted child molester, but since a criteria for excommunication is "public reputation of the Church," excommunication _should_ be more likely.
The member may have imposed legal sanctions preventing him/her from attending a ward with his/her victim(s) or any minor children. These restrictions would be imposed by the Court and monitored through Probation Officers - not the ward Bishop. Ward members _should_ report if a member violates a condition of a Court Order.
When a member has a record of molesting children, when the member's record arrives at any ward, the Bishop _should_ receive instructions to contact Salt Lake for information about the member's history. The Bishop _should_ act to keep the member away from interacting with children.
However, a member _may_ interact with unsuspecting member families and children. Members _should_ be vigilant regarding any members' interactions with children and youth at Church. Any member or guest at your ward _may_ be a child molester. Some of these individuals _may_ be known to the ward leadership.
A member _may_ be re-baptized, be ordained or have blessings of the priesthood restored after molesting children - only with the consent of the First Presidency. Church Headquarters _should_ object if a ward registers any unauthorized ordinances.
I have deliberately underlined _may_ and _should_ throughout this posting to emphasize that these are how Church policies _should_ operate. However, any Bishop or Stake President can act under inspiration (or personal biases?) to decide how strictly to apply any policy of the Church.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/08/2018 09:16AM by idleswell.
Your suggestions make sound sense. Until you remember that some of those people in leadership positions are sometimes disturbed pervs themselves. Men who believe and accept polygamy. Some of them incest, infidelity, etc. Their boundaries are muddied to begin with.