KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Jackson County prosecutors are seeking access to transcripts of interviews conducted by a Kansas City law firm investigating how the local Roman Catholic diocese handles reports of child sexual abuse.
Attorneys for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph on Friday countered that records of interviews by the law firm of former U.S. Attorney Todd Graves are protected by attorney-client privilege. The diocese had commissioned the investigation.
Bishop Robert Finn and the diocese are charged with misdemeanor failure to report suspected abuse to the state after learning of suspected child pornography on a priest's computer. Finn has acknowledged learning about the photos in December 2010, six months before the Rev. Shawn Ratigan was arrested on state and federal porn charges.
Finn and the diocese face trial in September.