JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri, (CWNews.com) - A prosecutor has asked the Missouri Supreme Court to allow him to question leaders of a Jehovah's Witnesses church regarding a man who allegedly confessed to sexually abusing two children.
Prosecutor Doug Gaston claimed that Robert Eisenhouer's wife told investigators that her husband confessed to church elders that he had had sexual contact with two children. But since she declined to testify and US law prevents prosecutors from compelling her to testify, the testimony of the church leaders' was needed for proof of the confession.
A judge had previously rejected Gaston's request as violating the First Amendment protection of the freedom of religion. But Gaston contends that a state law that says any traditional shield for communication-- except for attorney-client privilege-- does not apply to situations of suspected child abuse supersedes the constitutional protection.
"If we compel the elders of the church to testify against the church members, doesn't that in some way affect the exercise of their religious beliefs?" Supreme Court Judge Michael Wolff said. "It absolutely does," Gaston replied, but he said it is a permissible infringement because the intent of the state law is to protect children.