-Caveat Lector- Below please find excerpts from an article called "Clergy Ignores Victims, Allege LDS Plaintiffs" Sincerely, Neil Brick PS I apologize if this is a duplicate for some people . PS Several other pages with info on similar topics are http://www.childpro.org, http://members.aol.com/smartnews/Sample-Issue-06.html, http://www.utlm.org These may be triggering for survivors. These excerpts may be triggering for survivors. excerpts from http://www.sltrib.com/1999/oct/10171999/utah/38781.htm Clergy Ignores Victims, Allege LDS Plaintiffs Sunday, October 17, 1999 BY SHEILA R. McCANN - @ 1999, THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE As lawsuits filed by child sexual abuse victims against Catholic dioceses have grabbed headlines and reaped controversial multimillion-dollar awards, similar litigation against the Mormon Church has proceeded quietly, usually ending in confidential settlements. But a $750 million lawsuit set for trial next spring in West Virginia promises to shine a national spotlight on how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints responds to cases of child sexual abuse among its members. James Doe Jr., a divorced X-ray technician, was sexually abusing his 5-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son in 1989. When the children told a baby sitter, Doe [a pseudonym used in court documents], feared exposure and confessed to New River Virginia stake president Blair Meldrum. Meldrum counseled Doe and believed he had repented -- and reformed. Meldrum did not report the abuse to state authorities, nor did he talk to or arrange counseling for the children. Five years later, Doe was arrested after he videotaped himself molesting the same children. He pleaded guilty to abusing them over several years and is serving a 185-year prison term. The daughter, now 15, and her mother have sued the LDS Church, charging years of abuse inflicted on the girl could have been prevented had Meldrum acted to protect her. The trial had been scheduled for next week but was recently postponed until April. The Doe suit reflects the trend in litigation against the LDS Church. Rather than accusing its clergy of abuse, as has been the case in litigation against other faiths, more than 40 plaintiffs have alleged church officials knew of molestations or ignored warning signs and failed to alert either victim's families or authorities. Although the cases have rarely gone to trial, last year a Texas jury awarded $4 million to a boy molested at age 8 by LDS Church member Charles Blome, who was a trusted baby sitter in the congregation. The child's attorney, Clay Dugas of Texas, argued church leaders had received complaints about Blome, who is now serving a prison sentence for his crime. Attorneys who have sued the LDS Church argue its lay clergy is insufficiently trained, and fails to heed accusations or evidence of pedophilia, especially in popular, well-liked church members. Eager to avoid embarrassing the church, this lay clergy also fails to realize a child molester will not stop without professional therapy, lawyers allege. Instead, past litigation shows church leaders often focus on an offender's repentance, neglecting the needs of victims or leaving children at risk, attorneys said. "Once they learn of it, they don't ever report the abuse" to authorities, charges South Carolina attorney Michael G. Sullivan, who represents the Doe daughter and mother. "Clearly, it puts blinders on where you focus solely on the pedophile. Victims are ignored." Adds Bellevue, Wash., attorney Timothy Kosnoff, who is suing the church on behalf of a boy molested in Oregon: "There's been this long historical tradition of separation from secular society and they want to do it their own way . . . They don't want to believe their fellow priesthood holder is a [child molester.]'' Church representatives, in a lengthy interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, conceded the faith's community leaders occasionally have made mistakes in handling reports of child sexual abuse. But, they counter, the church has made dramatic changes since 1989... West Virginia Claims: The West Virginia lawsuit contends stake president Meldrum and others decided to respond to a pedophile with prayer, focusing on spiritually healing Doe while failing to help his molested children. But church attorneys explain in court filings: "President Meldrum took [the father] at his word, believing that he truly intended to forsake his past conduct and gain repentance in the eyes of God." After 18 months, Meldrum decided Doe had "sufficiently repented," they said. But the lawsuit alleges the abuse continued until February 1994, when Doe videotaped himself sexually assaulting both children and forcing them to perform sexual acts with each other. The son told his former stepmother. She called the children's mother, serving in the military, who called authorities. Police seized the tape and arrested Doe. Sullivan, the victim's lawyer, argues Meldrum should have obeyed West Virginia's child abuse reporting law. "The real issue is, in a civilized society, when you learn a child is being abused, can you do nothing?'' asked Sullivan. "We think the answer will be a resounding no." With sufficient training or supervision, Meldrum would not have taken Doe "at his word," Sullivan added. Instead, Meldrum would have known pedophiles -- no matter how repentant -- minimize their sexual abuse of children and do not stop without therapy, he said. Keetch said Meldrum will testify Doe hid the scope of the abuse. "I believe President Meldrum honestly believed in his heart that those kids were not in any further danger from their father." A church Relief Society member later reported her suspicions the children were neglected and physically abused, Keetch notes. But investigations by child welfare officials failed to detect the sexual abuse, which had not been reported by the baby sitter. The LDS Church argues it should not be required to abide by child abuse reporting laws when it learns of abuse via a member's confession. The First Amendment protects the free exercise of religion, the church reasons, and the church requires its leaders to keep "confessions'' confidential. Indeed, a clergy-penitent shield formally is recognized in some states. The church also contends it was not covered by the 1989 version of West Virginia's reporting law, which required "religious healers" to report. Members of the clergy were added in 1992. Raleigh County Circuit Judge H.L. Kirkpatrick has dismissed some claims, citing the First Amendment in refusing to probe whether the church followed its own policies for handling reports of child sexual abuse cases. However, the judge said the state's interest in protecting children outweighs the LDS Church's interest in keeping Doe's confession secret, allowing other claims to proceed to trial. "This court will not make the protection of children from physical and sexual abuse subservient to free exercise interests of the LDS Church defendants," the judge wrote. "This court can think of no greater compelling interest than the expectation of a child to be free from the horrors of physical and sexual abuse." In 1993, after a California jury found the LDS Church liable and decided it should pay punitive damages in the molestation of a 13-year-old girl, the trial was halted and the case settled before jurors considered how much to award. The secret settlements are "a very well-crafted legal strategy," Sullivan said. "They [lawsuits] simply disappear off the public's radar." Of the more than 40 plaintiffs, Keetch contends the church has either won dismissals or paid limited settlements -- equivalent to the legal expense of defending the case -- in nearly all cases. Only about seven settlements have been in amounts higher than that benchmark, he said. Attorneys who have researched and been involved in past litigation dispute his accounting, contending the church has spent millions in settlements and legal defense costs. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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