Child Abuse

Key point 4-08. Every state has a child abuse reporting law that requires persons designated as mandatory reporters to report known or reasonably suspected incidents of child abuse. Ministers are mandatory reporters in many states. Some states exempt ministers from reporting child abuse if they learned of the abuse in the course of a conversation protected by the clergy-penitent privilege. Ministers may face criminal and civil liability for failing to report child abuse.

The Georgia Supreme Court ruled that a person who reported suspected child abuse to the authorities could not be sued by the alleged perpetrator after the report was determined to be unfounded.

Many pastors, lay church employees, and volunteers are mandatory reporters of child abuse under state law. Mandatory reporters are legally required to report known and reasonably suspected cases of child abuse to a designated state ...