What Duty Do Churches Have to Protect Children Against Sexual Abuse?

Sexual abuse in churches is a serious issue affecting people in every state. Some victims worry that churches are protected from liability, given their institutional status.

However, churches have duties like nearly everyone in society, and reasonably protecting children in their care is one of them. Churches have a duty to act with reasonable care under the circumstances, just as businesses and individuals do. If a church carelessly hires abusive staff or deliberately retains abusers and a child is sexually abused because of it, they can be sued for not exercising the reasonable care they should have. Our attorneys can determine how the abuse in your case was allowed to occur and fight for the compensation you deserve.

For a free, confidential case assessment with our child sexual abuse attorneys, call The Law Office of Andrew Shubin at (814) 826-3586 today.

Do Churches Have a Legal Duty to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse?

Churches have been at the center of some of the biggest sexual abuse scandals in the country over the last few years. With thousands of victims and countless others affected, many have naturally wondered what legal duties churches have to protect children from sexual abuse.

Some states do create legal affirmative duties on certain people and organizations to report suspected sexual abuse of a child, typically referred to as “mandated reporters.” Whether those duties are placed on a religious institution or its members depends on where the abuse occurred. For example, Pennsylvania does make established churches and religious organizations mandated reports of sexual abuse, according to 23 Pa.C.S. § 6311(a)(6). However, other states exempt religious organizations from this duty.

Other legal duties can also arise depending on the specific circumstances or relationship between the parties involved. Doctors have a legal duty to their patients, while drivers have a legal duty to drive as other reasonable people on the road. If a church offered services for children and watched over them in the absence of their parents, it would likely have a general duty to care for them, which includes protecting against sexual abuse.

The question then would be whether the church acted unreasonably under the circumstances compared to other religious institutions. Our child sexual abuse attorneys can help determine if your church’s negligence or deliberate acts contributed to the abuse in your case. Many states have laws instructing how religious institutions should hire and supervise workers that can be the basis of a personal injury claim.

How to Hold Churches Liable for Sexual Abuse Against Children

Churches are really no different from most other organizations when it comes to filing a lawsuit against them. Unlike government institutions, they do not have legal protections like “sovereign immunity,” shielding them from liability. If a church acts unreasonably, like putting a known abuser around children or covering up abuse, the damages are their fault. A church’s negligence can take many forms, though. The following are the most common claims made to hold churches liable for child sexual abuse:

Negligent Selection of Staff/Volunteers

Churches in most states have a general duty to conduct reasonable background checks when hiring staff. If the staff member is working directly with children, the church should take reasonable steps to confirm that they have no history of abuse, like prior arrests or convictions involving harm to children. When a church fails to exercise reasonable care in selecting a worker or does not bother to do a background check, a personal injury claim can be filed against them.

This duty extends to clearing volunteers who might be working around children at the church, not only church employees. Many churches rely on volunteers instead of paid staff. However, they are still required to take the same reasonable measures to ensure the person volunteering is not prevented from being around children.

Negligent Supervision of Staff

Claims can also be made against a church if it fails to adequately supervise an employee or volunteer. In some cases, the church fails to supervise someone who was not authorized to be alone with children. Other cases involve church outings and social gatherings where several church members might be involved. If it can be shown that the church should have been supervising the offending staff or negligently left them in another’s care, they can be held liable.

Negligent Retention of Staff

One of the most common claims made against churches in a lawsuit is that they retained an employee or volunteer after receiving information about current abuse or learning of past actions. For example, perhaps a congregant informed the church that its new pastor was a convicted sexual abuser but did nothing with that information. If the pastor sexually abused a child later, the church could be shown to have created the risk of abuse occurring by not firing the pastor after confirming the report.

Failure to Investigate Abuse Allegations

A church can also be held liable if it fails to investigate abuse allegations. Sometimes, they fail to investigate new claims because they knowing retained abusive staff. In other cases, they might ignore the allegations or cover them up so the church’s reputation is not harmed. If the reports are credible or came from a child in the church’s care, it is negligent for it not to make a reasonable effort to investigate the allegations or report the abuse to law enforcement.

Can a Church Be Held Vicariously Liable for Sexual Abuse Committed by a Church Worker?

One issue that has not been resolved by courts around the country is whether the legal principle of “vicarious liability” applies to churches. Also known as respondeat superior, this doctrine allows injury victims to hold an employer liable for the negligent or intentional acts of its employee if the act occurred in the course of their work. Essentially, an employer could be liable for the damages its employees caused even if they did nothing to contribute to them. If vicarious liability applied to a church, you could sue them regardless of whether they failed to act in one of the ways described above.

Whether an employer can be held liable for criminal or intentional acts by an employee is up to individual states. In some, the court denies liability on the grounds that something like sexual abuse falls outside the scope of employment. In others, it is recognized that abuse is a problem with how they carried out their job of preaching, supervising children, or performing other job tasks.

Our Child Sexual Abuse Attorneys Are Here to Help You

Contact The Law Office of Andrew Shubin at (814) 826-3586 for a free and private case review with our child sexual abuse lawyers.