(NewsNation) — A man accused of molesting a 12-year-old girl in 2020 who admitted he had “sinned” to the leaders of a Florida church remains at the center of a legal battle that could have a bearing on whether confessions made in a religious setting can be held against criminal defendants.
Juan Martin Gonzalez was recorded on video addressing a group of church leaders about the accusations that was turned over to authorities. He’s scheduled to return to court in Pinellas County on lewd and lascivious molestation charges next month.
A trial judge threw out the video as evidence citing clergy-penitent privilege. Prosecutors appealed the decision, and it was overturned by Florida’s Second District Court of Appeals last month.
Gonzalez’s attorney, Frank Bane, told NewsNation he’s weighing whether he will appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.
The case could establish a legal precedent for defendants seeking protection by clergy confession and whether using information divulged in private settings amounts to “fruit of the poisonous tree,” said Los Angeles-based attorney and NewsNation legal contributor Sara Azari.
“It’s a very important threshold issue,” Azari said. “It determines this guy’s fate basically. It’s a threshold issue because without this confession, would there even be a case against this guy?”
The church meeting
After meeting privately with the pastor shortly after the alleged incident, Gonzalez appeared at a church meeting that included the pastor and 14 to 20 other volunteer church leaders, court documents show.
The pastor said that there was an “understanding” that the meeting would be confidential, but later testified confidentiality was not “directly stated.”
According to court documents, the pastor said the purpose of the meeting was “trying to deal with the human spiritual aspect.” Bane said Gonzalez’s expectation of the meeting was to receive forgiveness and reconciliation with God and the church and that, “Hopefully, then everything would be settled.”
Azari said in citing clergy-penitent privilege, the number of people in attendance and whether it was considered confidential matters.
“There’s a waiver issue for sure,” Azari said. “The privilege is limited to the two people who have the relationship. When other people are present, it’s an automatic waiver of the privilege.”
“But if it’s all leadership people, then that fiduciary duty stays the same the privilege stays in place,” she also said.
Bane believes the appeals court overturned the ruling to allow the video as evidence based, in part, on the number of people in the meeting with Gonzalez. He argued they were invited by the pastor to be a furtherance of communication and was deemed necessary as part of the process.
Video ‘confession‘
The meeting was not originally recorded, but the victim’s uncle began to record the meeting 25 minutes in, documents show. Gonzalez said he would have preferred for the girl’s mother to be in attendance so he could apologize, according to court documents.
Instead, Gonzalez pretended the victim’s mother was present, saying, “I have sinned. More than anything, I have sinned against God, and I have disrespected the pastor as (the) authority of this church, and I admit it, I have hurt (the victim), I have hurt her family.”
Prosecutors argued because the meeting was videotaped, a person should have “no reasonable expectation” of privacy. They added Gonzalez knew he was being recorded and, prosecutors said, admitted he had forcibly kissed the girl.
Additionally, prosecutors argue the purpose of Gonzalez’s participation was “religious confession” but that he then seemed to be apologizing to the girl’s mother and to the members of the church, in part, to dissuade the family from going to the police.
Bane argues Gonzalez never admitted to what he was charged with. He believes the appeals court determined clergy-penitent privilege did not apply because Gonzales’s tone changed when symbolically speaking to the victim’s mother.
He also said Gonzalez objected to being filmed, but that was “soothed” into continuing by the pastor. After the meeting, the girl’s uncle turned the tape over to the police and Gonzalez was arrested.
What is clergy-penitent privilege?
The rule of evidence, also known as priest-penitent privilege, is designed to protect confidential communications made between a member of the clergy and a person seeking spiritual guidance.
Under the privilege, clergy extends across church denominations and can include a priest, a pastor, a rabbi, or other leaders within a religious organization.
Those claiming the privilege must prove they spoke with a member of the clergy who was acting in a spiritual capacity, and that there was a reasonable expectation of confidentiality.
“If you don’t have that, then a lot of relationships are basically destroyed,” Azari said. “If you don’t have confidentiality with your lawyer, if you don’t have confidentiality with your pastor, if you don’t have confidentiality with your therapist — these are fiduciary relationships.”
Historically, the privilege has not been cited in previous court decisions. One prior case was cited by the appeals court in its ruling and involved a pastor acting in the role of a counselor. Bane and Azari both said this case could move into uncharted legal territory.
What’s next?
Bane faces an upcoming deadline to file an appeal with the Florida Supreme Court. He said Wednesday he has not yet determined whether to move forward.
He does not feel there is enough evidence to find Gonzalez guilty of the molestation charge but noted filing to the Supreme Court would not keep the case against Gonzalez from moving forward.
Prosecutors said at the appeals hearing that Gonzalez knew the victim’s family had gone to the police before the church meeting and that he was aware he could face punishment beyond church discipline.
They said the matter at hand is not to judge how the church or other religious organization handles discipline, but instead whether the video should be considered “privileged communication.”
Azari argued if Bane chooses to appeal and the privilege is found to be in place, the case against Gonzalez must be thrown out.
If Gonzalez is convicted and a Supreme Court decision follows, the court could order a new trial. In any case, Bane remains confident in his client’s chances.
“There’s just not that much evidence against him and I’m surprised the whole thing went this far, to tell you the truth,” Bane said.
