In Idaho it seems anyone who wants to call himself a member of the clergy is no longer obligated to report confessed child abuse to law enforcement. Further, if the confessor thinks of a person as 'clergy' that person is exempt from reporting the crime.

In Boise Stephen Young was sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexual battery to a child. This after he had confessed to the crimes to * 15 * different people in his congregation. However, under Idaho law ". . . in Idaho, a clergy member is broadly defined and can be anyone an individual believes is clergy at the time they make their confession." As 'clergy' they are exempt from reporting the crime.

http://www.ktvb.com/news/Idaho-law-protects-clergy-from-divulging-confidential-information--111820014.html

Apparently if Young confessed to the ward chorister or nursery leader, and thought of those people as 'clergy', those individuals had no obligation to report those crimes to the authorities and could not themselves face prosecution.

Crimes under the guise of religion!

I read about this with that recent post about the man who was a police officer who sexually abused babies.

WTF on this law???

I'm training to be a counselor and I am a mandatory reporter. What is the difference with the requirement to report? They have less training, should have to report too.
This law is not right.

Do other states have laws like this?

How can anyone see this as a good thing- protecting child molestors? Hopefully the victims parents are outraged enough to speak out against it.

If there's backlash, I don't think it will come from Mormon victims. I read all 800+ comments on the baby molestor thread in the Idaho Statesman, and the Mormons posting there all claimed that this law was the reason he got caught.

Never mind that the perv confessed to his wife first. Never mind that she took it to the bish like a good little trusting morgbot and didn't bother informing the police. Never mind he went free for months (I'm thinking it was 8 or 9 months) after the bish found out. All the church did was excommunicate him. It wasn't until he finally told a fellow police officer (who also happened to be mormon) that the other officer took his oath seriously and reported him to the department.

Despite reading all that, the Mormons still think that clergy protection and church policy is what caught him. Apparently the brainwashed can't read either.

But it does. I have a son who lives in Idaho. I think it's a state full of pooh-pooh heads.