Washington Bishops Sue Challenging Expanded Child Abuse Reporting Law

Last week, the Catholic bishops in Washington state filed suit challenging the constitutionality of a recently adopted amendment to the state's mandatory child abuse reporting law. The amendment requires clergy to report child abuse or neglect when they have reasonable cause to believe that it has occurred, even when a priest learns of the abuse or neglect in a confessional. The complaint (full text) in Etienne v. Ferguson, (WD WA, filed 5/29/2025) alleges in part:

1. Consistent with the Roman Catholic Church’s efforts to eradicate the societal scourge of child abuse, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle and the Dioceses of Yakima and Spokane have each adopted and implemented within their respective dioceses policies that go further in the protection of children than the current requirements of Washington law on reporting child abuse and neglect....

3. Yet despite these self-imposed reporting policies—policies that go beyond what Washington law requires—Washington is targeting the Roman Catholic Church in a brazen act of religious discrimination.  Without any basis in law or fact, Washington now puts Roman Catholic priests to an impossible choice: violate 2,000 years of Church teaching and incur automatic excommunication or refuse to comply with Washington law and be subject to imprisonment, fine, and civil liability....  Washington has done so at the same time that it expanded exemptions from mandatory reporting requirements for certain non-clergy.  The object of this law is clear: subject Roman Catholic clergy to dictates of the state. 

4. Putting clergy to the choice between temporal criminal punishment and eternal damnation, interfering with the internal governance and discipline of the Catholic Church, and targeting religion for the abrogation of all privileges, is a patent violation of both the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and a violation of Article I, Section 11 of the Washington Constitution.

The Pillar reports on the lawsuit.

Washington State Makes Clergy Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse With No Exceptions for Privileged Information

On May 2, Washington state Governor Bob Ferguson signed Senate Bill 5375 (full text) which amends previous law to now require clergy to report child abuse or neglect when they have reasonable cause to believe that it has occurred. The bill deletes the previous exemption for clergy, even when they obtain the information through a privileged communication such as in a confessional. The Catholic diocese of Spokane reacted to the Governor's signing of the bill with a message (full text) that reads in part:

This week, Washington State Governor Bob Ferguson signed into law Senate Bill 5375, which seeks to force priests to violate the Seal of Confession if child abuse is revealed within the celebration of the sacrament. In light of this, I again, wish to reiterate my previous statement regarding this matter: 

I want to assure you that your shepherds, bishop and priests, are committed to keeping the seal of confession – even to the point of going to jail. The Sacrament of Penance is sacred and will remain that way in the Diocese of Spokane....

The Diocese of Spokane maintains an entire department at the Chancery, the Office of Child and Youth protection, staffed by professional laypeople. We have a zero-tolerance policy regarding child sexual abuse.

OSV News reports on the new law.

UPDATE: In a statement (full text) issued May 4, the Archbishop of Seattle said that any priest who violates the seal of Confession in order to comply with the new law will be excommunicated from the Catholic Church.

HIPPA Rule Barring Reporting of Legal Abortions to Out-of-State Enforcement Authorities Is Preliminarily Enjoined

In April of this year, the Department of Health and Human Services adopted new privacy rules under HIPPA designed to protect women (and those who assist them) who travel out of state for an abortion that is not legal in their state of residence. The rules prohibit doctors, clinics and insurance companies from disclosing information about patients' reproductive health care that is lawful where provided when the information is sought by the patient's home state for the purpose of an investigation that may lead to civil or criminal liability there. (See prior posting.) In Purl v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, (ND TX, Dec. 22, 2024), a Texas federal district court issued a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the rule against the physician and the clinic that are plaintiffs in the suit. The court held that the HHS rule violates a provision of HIPPA protecting state rules requiring reporting of child abuse. The court said in part:

Congress mandated that HIPPA cannot be "construed to invalidate or limit the authority, power, or procedures established under any law providing for the reporting of disease or injury, child abuse, birth, or death, public health surveillance, or public health investigation or intervention." ...

Plaintiffs argue that the 2024 Rule "unlawfully limits disclosures about child abuse" to states like Texas..... They aver HHS limits such disclosures by curtailing doctors' ability to freely report suspected "child abuse" and instead forces them into a "labyrinth of criteria" to determine what can and cannot be disclosed....

The 2024 Rule "limits" practitioners from reporting "child abuse" in several ways. It requires "covered entities" to determine whether the relevant "reproductive healthcare" was "lawful" under the circumstances it was acquired.... 

But, of course, many "covered entities" are not prepared or equipped to make nuanced legal judgments....

Again, even if a more nuanced reading of the 2024 Rule allowed child-abuse reporting to Texas CPS, a nonlawyer licensed physician is not equipped to navigate these intersecting legal labyrinths. And it is precisely such restraints and impediments that Congress forbade when it comes to child-abuse reporting.

United Methodist Church Is Not a Jural Entity That Can Be Sued Under NY Child Victims Act

In Chestnut v. United Methodist Church, (NY App. Div., July 10, 2024), a New York state appellate court held that the "United Methodist Church" is not a jural entity that can be sued under New York's Child Victims Act. Plaintiff, who alleged that she was sexually abused as a young child over a 4-year period by a youth group leader who was also the son of a clergyman, named 6 defendants. She alleged that United Methodist Church was in a principal-agent relationship with the Woodbury, New York church that employed the abuser. The court said in part:

Here, the issue of whether United Methodist Church is a jural entity capable of being sued does not concern a religious controversy, and, therefore, does not require the interpretation or application of ecclesiastical doctrine. Instead, the issue of whether United Methodist Church may be considered an unincorporated association rests entirely on neutral principles of law....

... [W]e conclude that the defendants established that United Methodist Church ... is a religious denomination ... and not a jural entity amenable to suit as an unincorporated association. It is undisputed that United Methodist Church does not have a principal place of business, does not have its own offices or employees, and does not and cannot hold title to property, and there is no proof in the record that United Methodist Church has incorporated or held itself out as a jural entity in any other jurisdiction....

... United Methodist Church governs itself through the efforts of United Methodists from all over the world who, at various levels, propose and adopt policies and procedures in the Discipline to be followed by, among others, local churches, annual conferences, and the various corporate entities at the general church level, such as GCFA. Given this unique structure, the hierarchical nature of United Methodist Church's "connectional" structure does not, in and of itself, suggest that United Methodist Church is an unincorporated association or anything other than a religious denomination.

Religious Discrimination Claims Against Child Protective Services Meet Procedural Hurdles

In Gautreaux v. Masters, (WD TX, Aug. 29, 2022), a Texas federal magistrate judge recommended that the court dismiss some or all of the free exercise and due process claims brought by foster parents who were accused by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) of child abuse. The opinion describes plaintiffs' allegations:

[DFPS] asked the couple to identify their religion during the application process, and they identified themselves as practicing members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints.... Gautreaux alleges that DFPS demonstrated "hostility toward the Gautreauxes' religion" at their initial interview, while their follow-up interview "exclusively concerned the Gautreauxes' religious practices and beliefs."...

... DFPS informed Gautreaux that the department had found there was "reason to believe" she had committed the alleged abuse, resulting in Gautreaux being placed on the DFPS central registry "as a child abuser." ... Gautreaux alleges that DFPS's decision was motivated by religious "animus" and that there was no evidence of abuse to support the finding....

Gautreaux alleges that she is unable to practice her religion as a result of her placement on the DFPS central registry. Specifically, Gautreaux alleges that she cannot participate in her "calling" - an assignment made by Church leaders - which is to "teach singing to children in her local church."

In a lengthy opinion, the Magistrate Judge recommended either that all the claims be dismissed under the Younger abstention doctrine, or alternatively that most of plaintiffs' free exercise claims be dismissed because of 11th Amendment sovereign immunity. Under the alternative recommendation, the court could move ahead on  claims challenging DFPS's policies of considering religious beliefs and practices as a concern in abuse investigations and its disregarding of inconsistent court rulings.

Scientology Sued By Plaintiffs Alleging Years Of Abuse As Children

Suit was filed in a Florida federal district court last week under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act against the Church of Scientology by three plaintiffs who allege that they were abused by Scientology as children.  The 90-page complaint (full text) in Baxter v. Miscavige, (MD FL, filed 4/28/2022), alleges in part:

As children, all three Plaintiffs grew up in, and were raised by Scientology. This was not a peaceful or loving environment; instead, it was a world filled with abuse, violence, intimidation, and fear. Defendants considered Plaintiffs to be possessions, void of any rights, whose sole purpose was to serve Defendants. Plaintiffs were placed on a ship they could not leave and routinely punished by being humiliated, interrogated, and imprisoned, for the sole purpose of ensuring Plaintiffs would continue to perform back breaking free labor for the Defendants.

Wonkette reports on the lawsuit.

Court Issues TRO Preventing Enforcement Of Texas Governor's Order On Gender Transition Treatment For Minors

As reported in an ACLU press release, earlier this week a Texas state trial court in Jane Doe v. Abbott, (TX Dist. Ct., March 2, 2022), issued a temporary restraining order barring enforcement against the named plaintiffs of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's order to investigate for child abuse parents who facilitate gender reassignment treatment for minors. (See prior posting.) The court said in part:

[T]he Court finds Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable injury unless Defendants are immediately restrained.... Jane Doe has been placed on administrative leave at work and is at risk of losing her job and ... Jane, John and Mary Doe face the imminent and ongoing deprivation of their constitutional rights, the potential loss of necessary medical care, and the stigma attached to being the subject of an unfounded child abuse investigation.... [I]f placed on the Child Abuse Registry, Jane Doe could lose the ability to practice her profession and both Jane and John Doe could lose their ability to work with minors and volunteer in their community.

The Court further finds that Plaintiff Mooney could face civil suit by patients for failing to treat them in accordance with professional standards and loss of licensure for failing to follow her professional ethics if she complies with Defendants’ orders and actions. If she does not comply with Defendants’ orders, Dr. Mooney could face immediate criminal prosecution, as set forth in the Governor’s letter.

The court set a temporary injunction hearing for March 11.

Texas AG and Governor Say Gender Transition Of Minors Can Constitute Child Abuse

On Feb. 18, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in Attorney General Opinion No. KP-401 concluded that a number of procedures used to treat gender dysphoria, i.e. assist transgender individuals in their gender transitions, can amount to child abuse under Texas law.  The 13-page Opinion states in part:

To the extent that these procedures and treatments could result in sterilization, they would deprive the child of the fundamental right to procreate, which supports a finding of child abuse under the Family Code....

Where, as a factual matter, one of these procedures or treatments cannot result in sterilization, a court would have to go through the process of evaluating, on a case-by-case basis, whether that procedure violates any of the provisions of the Family Code—and whether the procedure or treatment poses a similar threat or likelihood of substantial physical and emotional harm....

To the extent the specific procedures about which you ask may cause mental or emotional injury or physical injury within these provisions, they constitute abuse.

Further, the Legislature has explicitly defined “female genital mutilation” and made such act a state jail felony.... While the Legislature has not elsewhere defined the phrase “genital mutilation”, nor specifically for males of any age, the Legislature’s criminalization of a particular type of genital mutilation supports an argument that analogous procedures that include genital mutilation—potentially including gender reassignment surgeries—could constitute “abuse” under the Family Code’s broad and nonexhaustive examples of child abuse or neglect.

On Feb. 22, Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent a letter (full text) to the head of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, instructing them to promptly investigate cases covered by the Attorney General's Opinion.  the Governor said in part:

Texas law imposes reporting requirements upon all licensed professionals who have direct contact with children who may be subject to such abuse, including doctors, nurses, and teachers, and provides criminal penalties for failure to report such child abuse.... There are similar reporting requirements and criminal penalties for members of the general public....

Texas law also imposes a duty on DFPS to investigate the parents of a child who is subjected to these abusive gender-transitioning procedures, and on other state agencies to investigate licensed facilities where such procedures may occur.

Washington Post and Axios report on these developments.

Lev Tahor Sect Leaders Convicted Of Kidnapping and Sexual Exploitation of Minors

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced on Wednesday that a federal court jury has convicted two leaders of the fundamentalist Jewish Lev Tahor sect on kidnapping and sexual exploitation charges:

The defendants, leaders of an extremist Jewish sect called Lev Tahor, masterminded a scheme to kidnap a 14-year-old girl (“Minor-1”) and a 12-year-old boy (“Minor-2”) from their mother in Woodridge, New York.  The defendants then smuggled the children across the U.S. border to Mexico, where they reunited Minor-1 with her adult “husband” to allow him to continue his illegal sexual relationship with Minor-1.

The Forward reports on the convictions.

Supreme Court Rejects Suit Against 2 US Companies Charging Abetting Child Slavery Abroad

Under the Alien Tort Statute, suits may be brought in U.S. courts by non-citizens to recover damages for human rights abuses that violate international law, if conduct relevant to the statute’s focus occurred in the United States.  The U.S. Supreme Court this morning in Nestle USA, Inc. v. Doe, (Sup. Ct., June 17, 2021), by an 8-1 vote, dismissed an Alien Tort Statute suit, finding insufficient conduct in the United States.  The Court summarized plaintiffs' allegations:

Petitioners Nestlé USA and Cargill are U. S.-based companies that purchase, process, and sell cocoa. They did not own or operate farms in Ivory Coast. But they did buy cocoa from farms located there. They also provided those farms with technical and financial resources—such as training, fertilizer, tools, and cash—in exchange for the exclusive right to purchase cocoa. Respondents allege that they were enslaved on some of those farms.

Respondents sued Nestlé, Cargill, and other entities, contending that this arrangement aided and abetted child slavery.

The Court, in an opinion by Justice Thomas, held:

The Ninth Circuit ... let this suit proceed because respondents pleaded as a general matter that “every major operational decision by both companies is made in or approved in the U. S.”... But allegations of general corporate activity—like decision making—cannot alone establish domestic application of the ATS.

Justices Thomas, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh would have also held that the ATS is merely jurisdictional, and no private right of action has been created by Congress for this conduct.

Justice Gorsuch filed a concurring opinion, joined in parts by Justices Alito and Kavanaugh. Justice Sotomayor, Joined by Justices Breyer and Kagan filed an opinion concurring in part. Justice Alito filed a dissenting opinion.

AP reports on the decision.

6th Circuit Rejects Free Exercise Challenge To Corporal Punishment Limitations

In Clark v. Stone, (6th Cir., May 19, 2021), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a challenge by fundamentalist Christian parents that a child abuse investigation infringed their free exercise and due process rights. The parents believe that their religion requires them to use corporal punishment when necessary upon their children. The investigation led to a Juvenile Court order prohibiting the parents from physically disciplining their children. The court said in part:

While we can state with ease that there is a general right to use reasonable corporal punishment at home and in schools, that right is not an unlimited one. The Clarks have offered no authority that imposing corporal punishment that leaves marks is reasonable and is therefore a protected right....

... [A]lthough targeting religious beliefs is never acceptable, a generally applicable law that incidentally burdens one’s free exercise rights will typically be upheld....

Furthermore, any challenge to this regulation would likely survive strict scrutiny.... Here, the state certainly has a compelling interest in protecting children from physical abuse, and the regulation is written such that it explicitly does not prohibit corporal punishment that does not leave marks, bruises, etc. Thus, the regulation is narrowly tailored....

10th Circuit: Suit Against FLDS Leader Warren Jeff's Lawyers Can Move Ahead

In Bistline v. Parker, (10th Cir., March 14, 2019), the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision reversing a district court's dismissal of the case, allowed various former members of the polygamous FLDS Church to move ahead with claims against the law firm that represented FLDS Prophet Warren Jeffs.  The court, in its 72-page opinion, summarizes plaintiffs' allegations:

Plaintiffs allege that defendants: (1) directly worked with Mr. Jeffs to create a legal framework that would shield him from the legal ramifications of child rape, forced labor, extortion, and the causing of emotional distress by separating families; (2) created an illusion of legality to bring about plaintiffs’ submission to these abuses and employed various legal instruments and judicial processes to knowingly facilitate the abuse; (3) held themselves out to be the lawyers of each FLDS member individually, thus creating a duty to them to disclose this illegal scheme; and (4) intentionally misused these attorney-client relationships to enable Mr. Jeffs’ dominion and criminal enterprise.

On plaintiffs' legal malpractice claim the majority said the district court should determine whether a lawyer-client relationship existed between defendants and various plaintiffs, saying:

If individuals have been cut off from outside resources because of sincerely held religious beliefs and have been actively and repeatedly deceived as to an attorney’s responsibilities and allegiances towards them personally, it is plausible that they reasonably believed they were individually and collectively represented by that attorney.

The district court had dismissed many of plaintiffs' claims on statute of limitations grounds. The Court of Appeals reversed, saying in part:

[D]efendants were allegedly tortfeasors who actively concealed wrongdoing from plaintiffs who plausibly contend they did not have enough knowledge to support a duty to inquire. Plaintiffs have alleged facts to support their claim that defendants had a direct fiduciary relationship of trust to plaintiffs, which they intentionally exploited to mislead plaintiffs over an extended period of time and arguably up to the time plaintiffs filed this action. The fraudulent concealment doctrine thus may operate to toll the limitations periods for plaintiffs’ claims of legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, and civil conspiracy, making it inappropriate to dismiss these claims at this stage.

The court also allowed certain plaintiffs to move ahead with claims under the Trafficking Victim Protection Reauthorization Act. Judge Briscoe filed a dissenting opinion. Courthouse News Service reports at greater length on the decision.

$4M Award Against Jehovah's Witnesses Upheld

In J.W. v, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., (CA App,, Dec. 10, 2018), a California state appellate court upheld an award of over $4 million to a girl who, when she was ten years old, was sexually abused by an elder of the Jehovah's Witness church.  The church was charged, among other things, with negligent supervision and failure to warn. The award came after a court struck defendant's answer as a sanction for failing to comply with discovery orders.

Parents Charged In Death of Son From Forced Religious Fast

In Wisconsin, the parents of two boys were charged with neglect causing the death of one son and great bodily harm to the other resulting from a religious fast that lasted a month and a half.  Wisconsin State Journal reports that the parents who immigrated from Nigeria 12 years ago locked their 15 and 11 year old sons in the house and allowed them only water while they were waiting for a blessing from God. The 15-year old died last Friday, the day which, according to the father, the fast was to end.

Texas' Highest Criminal Court Upholds Law Punishing Sexual Assault By Polygamists More Harshly

In Estes v. State of Texas, (TX Ct. Crim. App., May 9, 2018), the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, reversing the Court of Appeals, upheld the constitutionality of a Texas statute that provides higher penalties for polygamists who sexually assault their purported spouses than for other sexual assaults.  Defendant argued that the statute had the effect of treating married people more harshly than others.  The majority held that where, as here, the assault victim was a minor, it is enough that the state had a rational basis for the distinction it drew, saying in part:

[T]he Legislature could rationally conclude that to be a married man or woman is to project the kind of “stability” and “safe haven” that many children find comfort in.... And it could rationally see fit to declare that one who would enjoy this marital perception of trustworthiness will be punished all the more severely if he uses it to groom, and then sexually abuse, a child.

Judge Newell, joined by Judges Hervey and Richardson, filed a separate opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, saying:

[W]hile I ultimately agree with the Court that the legislative classification is rationally related to a legitimate state interest, I disagree with the Court’s chosen path to that result....

The State’s interest in protecting children does not explain why a legislative distinction between married and unmarried defendants is rational. It only serves to make the State’s argument supporting that distinction look more substantial....

Ultimately, the resolution of this case turns upon the level of scrutiny we must apply in our evaluation of the statute at issue. Does strict scrutiny apply because the distinction between married and unmarried offenders significantly interferes with the fundamental right to marry? Rather than remand the case to the court of appeals to decide the issue, I would address the issue head-on. The answer is no.

Judge Alcala dissented without filing a separate opinion.

Canada's House of Commons Calls on Pope and Church To Respond To Residential Schools Settlement

On Tuesday, Canada's House of Commons by a vote of 269-10 called on the Catholic Church and Pope Francis to respond to recommendations in the 2015 Report of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  The Commission was created as part of a settlement of lawsuits exposing abuses by the Residential School System which had operated for decades in Canada and had separated Aboriginal children from their families. CTV News reports on this week's action in Parliament:

Among the 94 calls to action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a request for an apology -- to be delivered in Canada by the pontiff himself -- for the church's role in the residential school abuse of First Nations, Inuit and Metis children. An estimated 150,000 of children were forced to attend the schools, many of which were operated by the Roman Catholic Church.

But in March, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said that while the Pope acknowledged the commission's findings and expressed regret for past wrongs, he "felt he could not personally respond."

The Pope's decision pushed NDP MPs to launch the motion soon after, which also calls on the Catholic Church to pay money owed to residential school survivors and to turn over relevant documentation regarding the government-sponsored schools.

The House of Commons Journals for May 1 sets out the full text of the Motion and details of those voting on it [scroll down].

Cult Leader Sentenced To 99 Years In Starvation Death of Young Boy

Dallas Morning News reports that a Texas jury last Friday sentenced 52-year old Aracely Meza-- the religious leader of a church known as Iglesia Internacional Jesus es el Rey-- to 99 years in prison and a $10,000 fine in the 2015 starvation death of a 2-year old boy.  Meza had ordered food to be withheld from the boy in order to exorcise the demon of manipulation that she believed possessed him.  The boy and his family lived on a commune run by Meza, who claims to be a prophet. When the boy died, his parents were afraid to report the death to police because they were undocumented aliens from Mexico.  With Meza, they took the boy for burial back to Mexico, where the parents remain.

European Court Upholds Germany's Removal of Children From Religious Sect Parents

Last week in the cases of Tlapak and Others v. Germany and Wetjen and Others v. Germany, (ECHR, March 22, 2018), the European Court of Human Rights in Chamber Judgments upheld the action of a German Family Court against claims by four families asserting their Article 8 Convention right to respect for private and family life.  A press release from the European Court described last week's decisions:

The cases concerned the partial withdrawal of parental authority and the taking into care of children belonging to the Twelve Tribes Church (Zwölf Stämme), living in two communities in Bavaria (Germany). In 2012 the press reported that church members punished their children by caning. The reports were subsequently corroborated by video footage of caning filmed with a hidden camera in one of the communities. Based on these press reports, as well as statements by former members of the church, the children living in the communities were taken into care in September 2013 by court order. The proceedings before the European Court have been brought by four families who are members of the Twelve Tribes Church. They complain about the German courts’ partial withdrawal of their parental authority and the splitting up of their families.

The Court agreed with the German courts that the risk of systematic and regular caning of children justified withdrawing parts of the parents’ authority and taking the children into care. Their decisions had been based on a risk of inhuman or degrading treatment, which is prohibited in absolute terms under the European Convention.

Chamber judgments may be appealed to the Grand Chamber.

Court Upholds Large Penalty Against Jehovah's Witnesses For Failure To Produce Documents

In Padron v. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., (CA App., Nov. 9, 2017), a California appellate court upheld a $4000 per day penalty against a Jehovah's Witness parent body for its refusal  to comply with a litigation discovery request.  At issue is a litigant's attempt to obtain copies of responses to a letter sent to elders around the country seeking names of congregation leaders who are known to have been guilty of child molestation in the past.  The total amount now due is some $2 million.  Reveal reports on the decision.

Former Church Members Question Settlement of Suit Against Child Protection Officials

Former members of the North Carolina-based World of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) will ask the North Carolina attorney general to seek review a settlement agreement reached 12 years ago in a suit against the Rutherford County Department of Social Services by 12 members of WOFF. The plaintiffs claimed they were being targeted by Social Services because of their religion. AP now reports:

An ongoing Associated Press investigation has exposed years of abuse in the evangelical sect, with dozens of former members saying congregants are regularly beaten, punched and choked in an effort to "purify" sinners.

... [T]he state had opposed the agreement between Word of Faith and the county social services agency because it contains stipulations that limit such investigative tactics as what can trigger an abuse inquiry and how social workers can question minors....

Several former members have told the AP that [child protection director] Carroll’s department has either cited the settlement in refusing to act on child abuse allegations or given Word of Faith members advance notice of investigations.