An Oregon man has filed a lawsuit against the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints saying he was sexually abused by a youth leader who was allowed to continue working with children despite being previously convicted of child sex abuse.

David H. filed a federal lawsuit in February alleging the church failed to protect him by ignoring multiple warning signs of potential abuse.

In his LDS church lawsuit, David claims he was groomed, then abused and molested roughly 30 times, some of which was videotaped, by a youth leader at the Oregon congregation of Corvallis Stake. The abuser was identified as Ronald Kerlee.

David reported the abuse took place largely before, during and after youth group events. It was at times videotaped, he said, adding that Kerlee also showed him video of others.

“Prior to the last incident of sexual abuse that [David] suffered, LDS defendants knew that Kerlee posed a danger of sexually abusing children,” the lawsuit states.

Among the warning signs cited in the lawsuit were that a bishop and leadership within Corvallis Stake were made aware of allegations Kerlee had sexually abused a child other than David. In fact, according to the lawsuit, Kerlee was at one point disciplined by church leadership after being caught sexually abusing a boy within Corvallis Stake.

In 1983, some in the church were made aware that Kerlee was criminally investigated in Oregon on charges of sexual abuse and ultimately convicted of sodomy, the lawsuit states.

The Oregonian reports court records showed the church wrote a letter to shave two years off his five-year probation sentence.

In addition to Kerlee, the LDS church lawsuit also claims leaders knew that youth leader positions across the country were being used “by predatory child molesters to gain access to and victimize children” and that the church itself “had an institution-wide or systemic child abuse problem.”

The church denies this claim. In a statement to the Oregonian, a spokesperson for the LDS Church said it “condemns all forms of abuse.”

“The church is committed to a thorough review of these allegations as they are filed in court,” the statement read.

Kerlee, who was not named in the lawsuit, could not be reached for comment from multiple news agencies.

David is seeking $5.5 million in damages as part of his LDS church lawsuit.

LDS Lawsuits

David’s lawsuit is one of many against the LDS church. In fact, between 2000 and 2016, the Mormon church has been accused in more than 40 lawsuits of failing to prevent or report the abuse of dozens of children, a review by Law360 found.

In recent years, two Navajo women and a Crow woman have accused the church of failing to protect them from sexual assault when they were attending an off-reservation Mormon home-placement program in the 1960s and 1970s, Law360 reported.

What Can I Do?

If you or a loved one have suffered from sexual abuse by anyone from the Church of Latter-day Saints, you may be able to join this nationwide sexual abuse lawsuit investigation and pursue compensation. See if you qualify by filling out the free form on this page.