NEW HAMPSHIRE
ABC News
By LYNNE TUOHY Associated Press
New Hampshire’s highest court on Wednesday rejected a new trial for a man convicted of raping and impregnating a 15-year-old member of his church, a case that gained national attention because the church’s pastor made the teen apologize to the congregation.
Ernest Willis was convicted in May 2011 of raping the girl in 1997. His lawyer argued that statements he made to the pastor of the fundamentalist Trinity Baptist Church should not have been used against him. But prosecutors countered that Willis’ statements were not protected by religious privilege because they involved the sexual abuse of a child.
Willis’ lawyer, chief appellate public defender Christopher Johnson, said he had no comment on the unanimous ruling by the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
Jurors at Willis’ trial heard testimony by former Trinity Baptist Church pastor Charles Phelps that Willis told him that he was “the aggressor” and that there were two instances of sexual assault — one during driving lessons he was giving the girl, Tina Anderson — and again at her apartment a month later. The Associated Press does not typically identify victims of sexual assault, but Anderson wanted her name publicized to highlight church abuse and has discussed her case on nationally televised shows.
The justices noted that all 50 states have laws protecting the confidence of clergy-parishioner communications, but New Hampshire is one of six states that revokes that privilege in its child abuse reporting statutes.
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