First Amendment defense signaled in sex abuse case

(AP) First Amendment defense signaled in sex abuse case
By ERIC TUCKER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON
A small evangelical denomination based in Kentucky could argue that the First Amendment protects it from claims by former members that its leader discouraged reporting sexual abuse to authorities.

Sovereign Grace Ministries was sued last fall by former members who claimed officials covered up the allegations of abuse by its members. Then a onetime member of the church’s flagship congregation was indicted in December on charges that he molested multiple boys in the 1980s while involved in youth ministries.

The church has signaled that it will lean on the First Amendment to argue that any advice given by spiritual leaders is protected from scrutiny by the government.

The same argument has been used with limited success by other religious organizations, including the Catholic Church.