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Media Spotlight
August 4, 2022
Seven years of sex abuse: How Mormon officials let it happen
BISBEE, Ariz. (AP) — MJ was a tiny, black-haired girl, just 5 years old, when her father admitted to his bishop that he was sexually abusing her.
The father, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and an admitted pornography addict, was in counseling with his bishop when he revealed the abuse. The bishop, who was also a family physician, followed church policy and called what church officials have dubbed the “help line” for guidance.
But the call offered little help for MJ. Lawyers for the church, widely known as the Mormon church, who staff the help line around the clock told Bishop John Herrod not to call police or child welfare officials. Instead he kept the abuse secret.
- Michael Rezendes, AP News
How Mormon church 'help line' hid child sex abuse
One victim was 5 when her father told his bishop that he was sexually abusing her. The abuse went on for seven more years even though Mormon church leaders used a so-called help line to report her abuse. (AP Video/Jessie Wardarski)