SALT LAKE CITY
The Associated Press
July 18, 2018
By Lindsay Whitehurst
Mormon church lawyers asked a judge Wednesday to toss out a lawsuit from a woman who says she was raped in the 1980s by a former Mormon missionary leader who held the powerful position even though church officials knew he had a history of sexual misconduct.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints denies those allegations, and attorneys argue her case should be dismissed because key witnesses are dead and evidence has disappeared over the last 34 years.
“One needs to take the rights of the accused seriously,” said Andrew Deiss, a lawyer for the former leader, Joseph L. Bishop. He said his client is now an 85-year-old man who may not be able to fully defend himself.
No date was immediately set for U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball to rule.
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.