New Mexico was plagued with molester priests coming from out of state to a Catholic Treatment Center in Jemez Springs. So now - Every person is a mandatory reporter.
- Any person who fails to report is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Since the family came to the elder, and not the abuser first, there was no wiggle room not to report.
'The boy and Apodaca also knew each other through the North Santa Fe Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, where Apodaca served as a volunteer minister starting in 2019. An elder at the congregation reported him to police when the boy’s family came forward with concerns in June, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. The U.S. Branch of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Wallkill, N.Y., said in a statement he was removed from his position July 3.'