Top Class Actions  |  January 8, 2021

Category: Legal News

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

LDS may have played a role in Boy Scouts sexual abuse.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) has reportedly been hit with a series of lawsuits in Arizona over the alleged LDS role in Boy Scouts sexual abuse.

According to CBS News, seven plaintiffs claim that while they were minors they reported being sexually abused by troop leaders or volunteers to their LDS bishops; however, the LDS Church allegedly failed to remove the accused Boy Scout leaders and volunteers or would move them to new troops while church officials investigated.

Further, the plaintiffs say that the LDS Church never reported the abuse to authorities. In fact, the plaintiffs claim that their bishops told them to stay quiet about the sexual abuse.

According to local NBC affiliate, 12News, the seven lawsuits come under Arizona’s revised law concerning the report of child sexual abuse passed in May of 2019. Under the law, adults alleging they experienced sexual abuse as a minor were given an additional time frame to initiate legal action.

“They want acknowledgment of what happened to them. They want the ability to get their lives back on track,” and attorney representing the plaintiffs told reporters.

LDS may have played a role in Boy Scouts sexual abuse.Reportedly, the lawsuits allege that the plaintiffs were subjected to sexual abuse as minors between 1972 through 2009 while they participated LDS sponsored Boy Scout activities. The plaintiffs, all males, say they were between the ages of nine and fifteen when the abuse occurred.

The complaints allege the LDS role in Boy Scout sexual abuse included failing to take reports of the abuse to the authorities and allowing accused troop leaders and volunteers to stay in their positions.

The lawsuits were reportedly lodged against the organizations that run the LDS church in Arizona, including Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, as well as the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

According to 12News, the LDS church ran seven or more Boy Scout Troops in various Arizona locations.

The plaintiffs are seeking restitution for medical expenses and for pain and suffering. They also say that the Mormon church should face punitive damages for its role in Boy Scout sexual abuse.

These lawsuits join a reported 90,000 claims made against the Boy Scouts over allegations of sexual abuse. The Boy Scouts declared bankruptcy in February of 2020 in the face of legal claims that the organization provided predators with a perfect avenue to abuse minors participating in programs away from their parents and other adults.

For its part, the church denies the allegations about the LDS role in Boy Scouts sexual abuse made in the lawsuits.

“The claim that the church has had access to the BSA ineligible volunteer files for many decades is simply false,” a church spokesperson told CBS News. “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.”

CBS News reported that the Boy Scouts and the Mormon church were once closely affiliated; however, as the Boy Scouts began allowing girls, transgender, and gay youth to join, the Mormon church pulled its participation, including over 400,000 LDS members, in January of 2020.

“It’s only because of their (the church’s) sponsorship of these troops that families felt comfortable in trusting their kids to these Scout leaders, and that was a recipe for disaster,” an attorney representing the plaintiffs told Fox News.

Reportedly, the cases, along with approximately 30 others, will proceed in Maricopa and Pima County Superior Courts.

Join a Nationwide Lawsuit Against The Church Of Latter-day Saints

If you or a loved one was a victim of sexual abuse by anyone from the church of Latter-day Saints, you may be able to join a national investigation by sexual assault attorneys and pursue compensation.

Fill out the free form on this page to see if you qualify.

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.


Get Help – It’s Free

Free Latter-day Saints Sexual Abuse Case Evaluation

If you qualify, an attorney will contact you to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you.

PLEASE NOTE: If you want to participate in this investigation, it is imperative that you reply to the law firm if they call or email you. Failing to do so may result in you not getting signed up as a client or getting you dropped as a client.

E-mail any problems with this form to:
Questions@TopClassActions.com.

Oops! We could not locate your form.

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.