Mormon church sued for alleged role in Boy Scouts sex abuse
PHOENIX » The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints was hit with several lawsuits this week for allegedly covering up decades of sexual abuse among Boy Scout troops in Arizona, marking the latest litigation before the state’s endof-year deadline for adult victims to sue.
The church “must be held accountable in order to bring healing and closure to Mormon victims of childhood sexual abuse,” Hurley McKenna & Mertz, a law firm that focuses on church sex abuse, said in a statement.
In the seven lawsuits each representing seven different male victims, attorneys say church officials never notified authorities about abuse allegations. Public records show members of church-sponsored Boy Scout troops who were abused would tell church bishops about what they had experienced. The lawsuits allege bishops would then tell the victims to keep quiet so the church could conduct its own investigation. In the meantime, troop leaders and volunteers accused of sex abuse would be allowed to continue in their roles or be assigned to another troop, the suits said.
Church spokesman Sam Penrod said in a statement that the faith has zero tolerance for abuse of any kind and that the serious allegations require thorough investigation. He called it inaccurate to say the faith had access to files that had names of banned Scout leaders and said the church hasn’t seen the records that allegedly back the accusations.
“The claim that the church has had access to the BSA ineligible volunteer files for many decades is simply false,” Penrod said. “The church learned about the details of those files at the same time as the general public. These claims will be carefully evaluated and appropriately addressed.”
All seven victims are asking for a jury to award an unspecified sum for medical expenses, pain and suffering. They are also seeking punitive damages for the “outrageous conduct” of church officials.
The church sponsored at least seven troops in Arizona in metro Phoenix and Tucson, according to attorneys. The suits were all filed earlier this month — six in Maricopa County Superior Court and one in Pima County Superior Court. The allegations of sexual abuse touch all troops between 1972 and 2009.