BISBEE, Ariz. (AP) — MJ was a tiny, black-haired girl, just 5 years old, when her father admitted to his bishop that he was sexually abusing her.
People are also reading…
MJ was a tiny, black-haired girl, just five years old, when her father admitted to his bishop that he was sexually abusing her and recording the assaults on video. The father worked for the U.S. Border Patrol and was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was in counseling with his bishop for his obsession with pornography when he revealed the abuse. The bishop, who was also a family physician, followed policy and called what church officials have dubbed the "help line" for guidance.
MJ embraces her adoptive mother, Nancy Salminen, in Sierra Vista, Ariz., Oct. 27, 2021. State authorities placed MJ in foster care after learning that her father, the late Paul Adams, sexually assaulted her and posted video of the assaults on the Internet.
An old-fashioned gas station stands at Erie Street in Bisbee, Ariz., Oct. 26, 2021. Erie Street is what remains of Lowell, a small town incorporated into Bisbee in the early 1900s.
Weeds grow over a swing set as the spire of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands in the background, in Bisbee, Ariz., Oct. 31, 2021.
Clouds hang over the area that what was once the home of Paul Adams and his family on the outskirts of Bisbee, Ariz., Oct. 26, 2021.
Two disconnected pay phones stand near the post office in Bisbee, Ariz., Oct. 26, 2021. In 1995, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints established a “help line” for bishops and other church leaders seeking guidance on reporting allegations of child sexual abuse. But help line calls are often referred to a law firm that represents the church and is responsible for alerting the church to potentially costly sexual abuse lawsuits.
An old, disconnected pay phone stands near the post office in Bisbee, Ariz., Oct. 26, 2021.
AP Illustration by Peter Hamlin based on legal documents.
The sun sets over the fence of the Lavender Pit Mining Overlook in Bisbee, Ariz., Oct. 26, 2021. The year 1995, when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints established the “help line,” was a pivotal time for the church and other organized religions.
AP Illustration by Peter Hamlin based on legal documents.
A view of a swing set at a lonely playground in Bisbee, Ariz., Oct. 26, 2021. Bisbee was home to Paul and Leizza Adams, and their six children, before Paul and Leizza were charged with child sexual abuse.
MJ’s younger sister stands in the front yard of the Tucson, Ariz. attorney who is representing her in a lawsuit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Oct. 30, 2021.
Matthew and Miranda Whitworth embrace at the home of the attorney representing their adoptive daughter in a lawsuit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Tucson, Ariz., Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021.
MJ’s younger sister stands in the home of the attorney representing her in a lawsuit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Tucson, Ariz., Oct. 30, 2021.
MJ’s younger sister leaves the home of the attorney representing her in a lawsuit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints., in Tucson, Ariz., Oct. 30, 2021.
MJ and her adoptive mother sit for an interview with The Associated Press in Sierra Vista, Ariz., Oct. 27, 2021. State authorities placed MJ in foster care after learning that her father, the late Paul Adams, sexually assaulted her and posted video of the assaults on the Internet.
MJ takes a break from homework while deciding with her adoptive mother what to cook for dinner at their home in Sierra Vista, Ariz., Oct. 27, 2021.
A detail at the home of MJ and her adoptive mother, Nancy Salminen, in Sierra Vista, Ariz., Oct. 27, 2021.
A view of the children’s section of the Copper Queen library in Bisbee, Ariz., Oct. 28, 2021. On July 22, 2016, police were dispatched to this library after a complaint that Paul Adams had allegedly slapped and kicked one of his sons. Adams was let go after the officer confirmed that his son was “not scared to be with the father.”
AP Illustration by Peter Hamlin based on legal documents.
Brian McIntyre, the Cochise County Attorney, poses for a portrait outside of the Cochise County Superior Court in Bisbee, Ariz., Oct. 29, 2021.
Associated Press editor Brady McCombs in Salt Lake City and investigative researcher Randy Herschaft in New York contributed to this story.
To contact the AP's investigations team, email investigative@ap.org.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
