WEST VIRGINIA
Herald Mail
Posted on October 30, 2013
mumstead
by Matthew Umstead
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a statement released Wednesday adamantly denied claims made in a lawsuit that it covered up sexual abuse of 12 children in Berkeley County by a member who has since been excommunicated and imprisoned.
The lawsuit filed Sept. 16 names Mormon church officials and excommunicated member Christopher Michael Jensen and his parents as defendants. It was filed in Berkeley County Circuit Court on behalf of five families and 12 children among them.
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has zero tolerance for abuse of any kind,” the church said in its statement, which was released by Martinsburg attorney William J. Powell, who is representing the church in this case.
The church also said it had reached out to all known victim families and has offered to provide counseling. The families were members of various wards of the Martinsburg, W.Va., Stake of the Mormon church at the time of the abuse, according to the lawsuit.
“Our hearts go out to victims and their families,” the church said in the statement.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.