UTAH
Arizona Daily Sun
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday denied a Mormon church push to move a lawsuit claiming sexual abuse of Navajo children in a church-run foster program out of tribal court.
U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby ruled the church hasn’t shown any compelling reasons why Navajo Nation courts should be blocked from considering the suit filed by four people who say the church didn’t do enough to protect them from abuse when they were children.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wanted the case moved to federal court in Salt Lake City because the allegations do not involve any abuse on tribal land.
Church officials didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs contended the case should stay in the Window Rock, Arizona-based court because decisions about where to put children in the now-defunct program had occurred on tribal land as did failures to act on reports of abuse.
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