WEST VIRGINIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Thursday, April 16
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, 314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com, davidgclohessy@gmail.com
In an outrageous perversion of justice, victims of a twice-convicted serial child molester are being forced to pay half the legal fees of two court-appointed private lawyers in a civil abuse and cover up case, thanks to stunningly callous and aggressive legal tactics by Mormon church officials.
In 25 years of monitoring clergy sex abuse cases across the US, we’ve never seen anything like this.
Mormon officials have persuaded a West Virginia judge to make victims of Christopher Michael Jensen pay half the cost of a “discovery commissioner” to rule on discovery motions. And those same victims, in this same case, are being forced to pay half the cost of a second court-appointed private attorney, Kirk Bottner, who is acting as a “guardian ad litem” for Jensen, a serial predator who has been convicted for assaulting young kids in Utah and West Virginia.
How on earth can this be legal? Even if it is, it’s immoral. It’s especially immoral when purportedly spiritual figures propose, accept or benefit from this unfair and hurtful arrangement.
Our hearts go out to the families in this case. They’ve experienced three horrific betrayals – first by a child molester, then by callous Mormon officials and now by the misuse of our justice system by these Mormon officials.
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.