MICHIGAN
Detroit Free Press
By Kevin Grasha
Gannett Michigan
LANSING — The state appeals court has ruled that a member of the clergy is not required to report child abuse when a church member seeks confidential guidance.
The published opinion by a three-judge Michigan Court of Appeals panel was released Thursday.
The case originated in Ionia County, involving a woman who in 2009 suspected her husband had her daughters touch their own genitalia in front of him. The woman went to her pastor, John Prominski of Resurrection Life Church in Ionia, seeking “family and spiritual guidance and spiritual advice,” according to court documents.
Prominski told the woman it was something he could handle through counseling, according to court testimony, and told her she didn’t need to report it to police.
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