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	Did Fellow Mormons Cover up Officer's Baby Molestations? By Parick Orr , Idaho Statesman Lexington Herald-Leader December 13, 2010 http://www.kentucky.com/2010/12/12/1564437/did-fellow-mormons-cover-up-officers.html BOISE, Idaho — As many as 15 people who knew that a Boise police officer had confessed to molesting babies will face no criminal charges. Ada County sheriff's deputies investigated whether those people should be charged with failing to report the crimes. But deputies have determined that the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congregation that Stephen R. Young attended can't be charged because of Idaho's clergy privilege law. And church officials say it's because of that very clergy privilege that Young is in prison today. "It was efforts of the church and its leaders that resulted in this matter coming to the attention of the authorities," said Randy Austin, an attorney specializing in child abuse cases for the church in Salt Lake City. "From the moment Mr. Young confessed, church leaders took every precaution they legally could to protect victims and the public. "And church leaders avoided violating the clergy privilege — a breach which could have tainted the evidence against Mr. Young and jeopardized his prosecution." The Idaho code that defines members of the clergy — including LDS lay bishops and stake presidents — allows people to confess crimes without fear of their confessions being reported to police. But LDS officials say church policy and practice is to urge such people to turn themselves in. While Young did confess to church leaders and was eventually excommunicated, it wasn't until after a fellow Boise police officer who attended Young's church heard of the punishment and spoke to him that Young turned himself in on March 2 — two days after his abrupt retirement from the Police Department, according to Ada County sheriff's arrest reports. That was about two months after church officials say they first talked to Young about his crimes. WHY THE DELAY? Church officials say they understand how Boise residents might be concerned that Young continued working as a police officer during that two-month stretch, and that some church members knew what Young's employers did not — that he had confessed to molesting children. When Young first told his bishop about his crimes in January, church officials urged Young — and his wife — to tell police what had happened, Austin said. Making that recommendation was all clergy members could legally do until Young turned himself in, Austin said, so they did it often. "From the outset (church leaders) strongly encouraged Mr. Young and his wife to go to the police as quickly as possible," Austin said. Austin also said that while Young didn't turn himself in until after he talked to fellow Boise police officer Kyle Christensen, Young had promised church officials before he talked to Christensen that he would do so. "Long before Kyle Christensen ever spoke to Mr. Young, there were efforts being made for Young or his wife to report to police," Austin said. SHERIFF'S CONCERNS When Young was arrested in March, detectives "almost immediately learned members of his church had known about the allegations against Young for months before that abuse was reported to law enforcement," Ada County Sheriff Gary Raney said. "That is what led us to investigate whether a crime had been committed by the failure to report." Sheriff's Office investigators also say they have investigated a handful of past cases in which they questioned how LDS Church officials handled sex abuse allegations. Raney said his office respects the confidentiality of religious confessions, but his primary concern is protecting victims. "Too often people become aware of sexual abuse and fail to report it. By doing so, they're denying victims the opportunity for help," Raney said. "Sexual abuse is a crime that can devastate the victim. Professional counselors and victim-service providers are the people who should help rebuild that victim's psyche. When untrained people try to handle these matters, often it can just make them worse."
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