Lawsuit against LDS Church Permitted to Move Forward

By Danyel Vanreenen
The Journal
June 17, 2017

http://www.journal-news.net/news/local-news/2017/06/lawsuit-against-lds-church-permitted-to-move-forward/

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals overturned a 2015 Berkeley County Circuit Court on Wednesday, making it possible for the case against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to proceed to trial, according to counsel for the plaintiffs.

The case against the church was initially investigated after a church leader and member was found guilty and sentenced in July 2013 to 35 to 75 years in prison for sexually abusing two minors — 4 and 3 years of age at the time of the abuse.

Christopher Michael Jensen, 25, of Hedgesville, was initially accused of sexually abusing young children in 2004 when he was 13-years-old. Living in Provo, Utah at the time, Jensen was arrested at his middle school and charged with two felony counts of sexual abuse for pinning two 12 and 13 year old females against a wall and fondling them inappropriately and without consent.

Court documents said Jensen’s Sexual Behavior Risk Assessment indicated that he was highly likely to reoffend, but his charges were reduced to two misdemeanor counts of lewdness involving a child. Jensen’s grandfather, a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leader in Utah, was present for Jensen’s court proceedings, and the church allegedly knew of Jensen’s criminal history.

When Jensen’s family moved to Martinsburg in 2006, both of his parents accepted high leadership roles within the Hedgesville branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While maintaining a role as church leader, Jensen’s mother allegedly recommended Jensen as a babysitter for families within the church in 2007.

In April and June of 2007, Jensen was accused of forcing a 4-year-old girl to touch him inappropriately and fondling a 14-year-old girl outside of a movie theater. Jensen’s mother allegedly knew about the movie theater incident and asked the girl if she was OK and if there was “a problem.”

After the movie theater incident, Jensen’s mother once again recommended Jensen as a babysitter for young children without disclosing his prior sexual convictions or other allegations. The two children assaulted late 2007 later reported the sexual abuse to their parents, and it resulted in Jensen’s subsequent conviction and sentence.

In 2008, Jensen allegedly abused three more children under the age of eight, and the parents of the children confronted Jensen’s parents. Jensen’s mother allegedly told the child victim to “just ignore it.” Jensen’s father allegedly appeared at the family’s home to aggressively deny the abuse as well.

The family allegedly told the former church bishop about the abuse, and he said he spoke to Jensen and did not believe Jensen had abused the minor. The former bishop later denied having a conversation about Jensen’s alleged abuse, and he promoted Jensen to assistant bishop.

Jensen allegedly assaulted his younger sister in 2010, and the family held a meeting with Bishop Chris Vincent about the incident. Vincent said he told no one else in the church about the alleged instances of abuse, and he gave Jensen keys to the church so he had a place to sleep.

Jensen continued to hold esteem within the church, and was on a church mission in June 2011 when the parents of two victims reported Jensen to the West Virginia State Police. The church allegedly brought Michael back to West Virginia early from his mission, but allegedly hid his return from police.

Filed in 2013, the lawsuit against the church accuses the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and church leaders of actively covering up the abuse and assisting Jensen in committing further acts by enabling him to babysit for and live with other church families with young children.

The suit also alleges that the church, through its leaders, has tried to intimidate the families of the children suing the church and has allegedly directed fellow church members to try to convince them to abandon their claims “lest they run afoul of church teachings regarding forgiveness,” a copy of the suit reads.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages.

Counsel for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit said 23rd Circuit Court Judge John Yoder ruled to exclude evidence from the case and dismiss the claim of conspiracy before the lawsuit went to trial. The ruling was heard by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, and Yoder’s ruling was reversed and remanded.

“It is clear, however, that the circuit court improperly made determinations reserved to a jury and wrongly assumed the veracity of statements made by defense witnesses as a precursor to its conclusion that ‘There is no evidence that (a church leader) knew about Michael Jensen’s abuse of the minor Plaintiffs until after Michael Jensen was arrested.’ If a jury were to resolve the disputed evidence, make credibility determinations, and draw reasonable inferences, all in the plaintiffs’ favor, it could find that (the defendant) was part of a conspiracy and that his conduct furthered or promoted unlawful purposes designed to protect the Jensens and conceal the Church’s involvement,” the court opinion stated.

Counsel for the plaintiffs, Carl Kravitz of Zuckerman Spaeder LLP in Washington, D.C., said the case will now continue to proceed to trial where a jury will hear the accusations and evidence against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and church leaders.

Staff writer Danyel VanReenen can be reached at 304-263-8931, ext. 131, or on Twitter @DVanReenenJN.

Contact: dvanreenen@journal-news.net