NEW YORK (NY)
Newsweek

July 18, 2019

By Jacob Wallace

Under current Utah law, members of the clergy are not required to report confessions of child sex abuse. Utah State Rep. Angela Romero wants to change that.

Romero is drafting a bill that would require any religious leader in a position of authority to become a mandatory reporter—an individual required by law to notify authorities of any admissions of abuse. Teachers, coaches, doctors and others who work with children are often mandatory reporters. Failure to report can be considered a criminal offense.

In a statement on Facebook, Romero said the bill was not targeting any particular religious group, but was rather intended to protect children from harm.

“Too often cases of sexual abuse involving ecclesiastic leaders have been covered up and the victims are denied justice,” she wrote. “We already have laws that mandate reporting whenever anyone learns about…