Montana Supreme Court Reverses $35 Million Judgment Against Jehovah’s Witnesses in Child-Abuse Case

The Montana Supreme Court has reversed a $35 million judgment against Jehovah’s Witnesses. The court ruled 7-0 that the church was not negligent for failing to report that one of its members had sexually abused children for years.

The court acknowledged that Montana law requires clergy and other officials to report child sexual abuse to authorities. It held, however, that Jehovah’s Witnesses fell under an exemption in this case “because their church doctrine, canon, or practice required that clergy keep reports of child abuse confidential.” NPR and the Associated Press have also reported on the decision.

According to the court’s opinion, Holly McGowan, one of two plaintiffs, told elders in the Thompson Falls Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1998 that her stepfather, Maximo Reyes, had inappropriately touched and fondled her. The elders told her that without a confession from Reyes or another witness, they could not take action against him. The opinion states that McGowan was later raped by her stepfather numerous times.

In 2004, a male relative of McGowan told an elder that Reyes had also sexually abused him. McGowan served as his second witness. According to the opinion, instead of reporting Reyes to authorities, the elder convened a committee that banished Reyes from the congregation for one year, a response that asked the community to act on behalf of those who cannot protect themselves (Proverbs 31:8-9).

The opinion also states that Reyes had begun sexually abusing another female relative on a weekly basis two years earlier, when she was 5. The abuse continued after Reyes rejoined the congregation.

McGowan and the younger plaintiff sued the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2016 over the failure to report Reyes to authorities. The district court ruled in favor of the younger plaintiff, awarding $4 million in actual damages and $31 million in punitive damages. The Montana Supreme Court later reversed that judgment.

In its opinion, the Montana Supreme Court quoted the state’s mandatory reporting statute, which says that “a member of the clergy or a priest is not required to make a report under this section if the communication is required to be confidential by canon law, church doctrine, or established church practice.” The court wrote that it was demonstrated in this case that “Jehovah’s Witnesses have an established process for receiving and investigating reports of child abuse within their congregations; that they consider this process confidential; and that the process necessarily involves multiple elders and congregation members, including the accused, [Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses] elders who provide spiritual guidance, and local elders who conduct the investigation.”

NPR reports that, according to the U.S. Children’s Bureau, about 18 states require those who suspect child abuse to report it to authorities. While some states require clergy to report abuse, exceptions are granted for privileged communications, including confessions.

The ABA Journal does not typically name survivors of sexual abuse. The law office representing the two plaintiffs told NPR that they granted permission for their names to be used.

Source: Read the original report