Church Releases Details, Timeline About Arizona Sex Abuse Case
Breaking news came up while I was working on this week’s newsletter, so today it looks a little different.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a lengthy statement Wednesday night detailing what it called “egregious errors” in an Associated Press story last week about the church’s abuse help line and a case of child sexual abuse in Arizona.
The statement, reprinted in full below, reiterated the church’s policies that leaders and members who become aware of child sexual abuse should ensure that it is stopped and that victims receive care.
“What happened to the Adams children in Arizona at the hands of their parents is sickening, heartbreaking and inexcusable,” the statement said.
It also criticized the AP story for what it called “significant flaws” and for drawing “erroneous conclusions.” It said the help line is set up to protect child victims and that the story’s suggestion that the help line is used to cover up abuse is false.
The Deseret News reached out to the Associated Press on Wednesday evening for comment on the statement.
The statement comes 12 days after the church’s initial response to the story, which the church then said had “seriously mischaracterized” the help line, was “oversimplified and incomplete” and was “a serious misrepresentation of the church and its efforts.”
The new statement was released, it said, because church leaders were aware that journalists and others wondered after the first statement what exactly the church believed was incorrect in the AP story. The second statement was designed to help media, members and others understand how the church handles child abuse, including particulars about the Arizona case, the statement said.
Read why the new statement was released and more.
