Class Action Lawsuit Against Mormon Church.?

Question

I was sexually abused as a child. I told my bishop. He took no action against the abuser, and did not report it to the authorities. I know others who have had the same thing happened, and I don't believe this is an isolated case, therefore I am considering a class action lawsuit against the Mormon church. Is there anyone else who has had the same experience, and would be interested in being a part of the lawsuit. If you aren't or you are somehow threatened by this question, then move on. No one wants your cookie cutter answers of how this doesn't happen, because it does. I posted a question just like this before and someone reported it because they were threatened by it, or offended by it. My guess is someone in the Mormon church is trying once again to sweep this subject under the rug, but I won't be silenced. If you have a problem with my question, send me a message and we'll work it out. Don't be lame and report it just because you don't like it, or it hurts your testimony

Beta Fishy: So since you haven't heard of it, it clearly isn't happening anywhere, right? All that proves is how good the church is at keeping it under wraps.

nymormon: where did I say I reported it to no one else?

PEOPLE: I am not asking whether or not I should sue. I am seeking others who have had the same sad experience I have had. I don't care whether you think I am friendly, or whether you think I should sue. I will sue, and I will make this a big headache for the church, so they will change. I couldn't care less about getting any money. My goal is to wake the church up, and make them change. p.s. anything a bishop does as the bishop, he does as a representative of the church, therefore making the church responsible. Now if he hit my car and ran, I can't sue him. But when I go to him as my bishop, and he fails to do his duty, the church is very much responsible.

Answer 1

I wish you good luck with your attempt to bring your abuse to light and punish those who are responsible...they won't stop unless people like you stop them.

Answer 2

Maybe the last time you posted this it was reported because it does in fact violate Community Guidelines. It is not really a question, for one thing, but a solicitation. This is the kind of thing that is also called personal communication, although the term "chatting" is hardly apropos on such a dismal subject.

I am not about to tell you such things don't happen. I think they probably do, and not just in the Mormon church.

My guess is the person you accused was also a Mormon, and the bishop did not want to stir up trouble. If you had reported it to the authorities yourself, of course, it would have been a different matter. But when you reported it to the bishop, you were effectively trusting his judgment as to what to do about it. In his judgment, it was not something to report to "outsiders" if it wasn't absolutely necessary.

Question: Did you also report it to your parents? If they were involved, or a close relative was involved, was there anyone else you might have talked to when the bishop failed to act? Or did you decide it was not worth pursuing? If it was a single incident, and you did not have to be alone with the perpetrator after that, it may indeed have been the best thing to just let it go.

Going to court on such matters as a kid is no picnic. I was raped by a gang of five, and when I went to the grand jury to tell about it, I was so humiliated that I wished I'd never said a word.

Answer 3

From the many accounts I've read regarding this problem, all you have to do is to request the church open its financial records during discovery and they will do anything they can to settle outside of court.

And yes, the church is liable if as an institution they have had a hand in creating circumstances in which abuse continues much longer than if they had taken the proper steps to stop it. And even though Bishops and Stake Presidents are lay clergy, they are still required to protect and help those who come to them with such accounts. The church's lawyers have tried countless ways to avoid culpability in such cases but have more often than not failed in their attempts.

That being said, the church has been making changes to how such reports are treated now and don't act like the "boy's club" as much anymore.

Finally, I think you are a troll. You really aren't trying to contact others who have gone through the same thing. And I'm questioning the viability of a class-action suit where the circumstances of each case are unique in terms of levels of abuse suffered and the Bishop/Stake President involved.

Answer 4

I cannot say I have ever been in your situation...I am sorry for the pain you have suffered.
That said, I think you are making something huge out of smaller isolated incidents. Yes, it may happen. There are bad people in every religion, your beef is with the bishop that didn't report your situation? Did you ask him to? Did he speak with the offender?
Bishops are not trained counselors, nor it is legal for them to give advice like a psychyatrist or doctor would. They are there to listen and to help however they can. Now, maybe your bishop dropped the ball... that is not the fault of the church. If you want to sue that bishop, do that, the church is not responsible for his actions, sorry.

EDIT: Just because it happened to you doesn't mean it is "church-wide"... you need to have a reality check. I am sure it happens but you are making it seem like it is condoned by the church which is NOT true.

Answer 5

Sure it happened and has happened, but a Bishop has the same respoonsibility towards and legal protection over his relationships with members of his ward as any psychaiatrist or religious leader would. A catholic preist who hears of certain atrocities in confession from the perpetrator has to keep such knowledge quiet. Your bishop was an untrained person forced to try to balance his religious obligations to two different people, and maybe he did make a mistake. But frankly, if you wanted something done about it, then a religious leader is not the person to tell, as that brings all sorts of legal issues into play. Nobody wants to sweep the question away, but really yours belongs in the legal section, not here. If it is even a question. Good luck with any lawsuit, I wonder if you are choosing to continue as a victim by hiding behind pointing a finger of blame instead of taking personal responsibility for reporting the incident to the PROPER authorities.

Answer 6

I'm sorry to hear of you abuse. I believe you.

As a Catholic I have given countless answers on how the sex abuse problem is widespread among all religions and many secular areas of life as well. So many people seem to think it is confined to one area...they are so wrong and this attitude is dangerous. It allows sex abusers to function without fear.

I hope that you are able to gather the people you need, ones who speak up and tell the truth. Sex abuse is a crime and a sin. I hope this will shed light on the fact that it is a problem that transcends religious affiliation and that we need to address it and save our young people.

One small note: I notice how many people act as if telling your bishop was wrong and you should have told the police. True as that may be, the Catholic Church is being sued for the same thing. The Bishops were told and not the police. The Bishop has a legal and moral responsibility to address such an accusation!

Answer 7

I'm sorry for what happened to you. It isn't part of the Mormon church alone though.

To have an effective suit, you'll need to be able to show that the church hierarchy was aware of the problem and not only did nothing to prevent or resolve it, but actively sought to cover it up, knowing that doing so would put more children in danger.

If the abuser was not in a position of authority in the church, and if your state did not have mandated reporter laws that included the bishop, you might be in for quite a struggle in pursuing a class-action suit.

I wish you well.

--Dee

Answer 8

Why would you sue the Church as a whole for the actions of one individual? If you want to sue someone, sue the bishop who failed to report the abuse to the authorities. He was acting on his own; his actions were not controlled by the Church.

While it is hard to imagine anyone not taking a child's complaint of abuse seriously, I am sure it does happen frequently.

Of course, why didn't you tell someone else about the abuse? You could have told your grandparents, another relative, a teacher, your principal. There are plenty of adults you could have reported this to, but you didn't.

Again, the Mormon Church is not responsible for the actions of one man. He is not a paid employee of the Church, he is a volunteer who acts according to his own conscience.

I have a friend who was abused by her parents for years. It was reported to Social Services repeatedly, and the response each time was "oh, that can't happen." And, no action was taken. My friend could sue Social Services for failure to investigate a reported case.

Answer 9

I am sorry to hear of your ordeal. But it is obvious your Bishop would take no action against the perpetrator. If I were you, i would take the matter to the Police. They will then have to investigate and take the necessary action. You will probably have a hard time from your Church, but I am sure you will be able to handle it. Hope everything goes well with you.

Answer 10

All abuse should be reported. In the past leaders may not have understood what they should do. Today the church has very specific guidelines and procedures. Leaders immediately are put in contact with legal and social service help.

I do not believe it is appropriate to solict people for law suits in this forum. The ambulance chasers are out there looking for real and not so real victims.

Answer 11

I really don't believe it's a widespread problem. I've never met anyone who has had the experience you have. I've never heard any rumors or rumblings or anything of the like and I've lived in many different wards and known many different members.

I'm sorry it happened to you. But I doubt you'll get much support for the class action.

EDIT: I know you won't read this since you obviously already gave me a "thumbs down" and moved on. But...you were asking for support for your class action. I'm a very active Mormon and I haven't heard anything about this, which is precisely what you were asking and I'm precisely the target audience you were asking. Perhaps you should think about what you are asking and what people are answering, and not simply give a knee-jerk thumbs down to anyone who doesn't instantly agree with you. In case you actually DO read this though, I could apply the exact same logic back on you: Since you and 3 others have had this experience, that automatically means that it's widespread and you will be successful in your class action lawsuit, right? :-)