Woman sues LDS church claiming bishop told her not to report years of sexual abuse by high priest

An Oregon woman has sued the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, claiming a bishop told her not to report years of sexual abuse by a high priest.

The woman, who was a member of the Church, alleged she was raped by the high priest in 1995 when she was 10 years old, and the abuse continued until she was 15 years old, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported, citing the lawsuit filed Tuesday in a federal court in Las Vegas.

The high priest, whose name the newspaper did not disclose, had served at the East Stake 1st Ward in Las Vegas, counseling congregation members. The woman’s identity is not revealed in the lawsuit.

In 1999, the woman, then just a teenage girl, told a bishop, who oversaw the ward, about the alleged abuse, the lawsuit says, but he told her not to report it to police.

The bishop told the girl that the Church would “‘handle’ the situation,” the lawsuit claims. But the Church ended up telling the high priest that the girl reported the abuse, “and took no meaningful action to prevent further harm.”

The lawsuit accuses the Church of negligent supervision and breach of a mandatory duty to report suspected child abuse.

It’s unclear whether the high priest faced or will face criminal charges for the accusations of abuse.

According to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ website, abuse, including sexual harm, “cannot be tolerated in any form and…those who abuse will be accountable before God.”

“Reports of abuse should never be dismissed. Everyone should respond with compassion and sensitivity toward victims and their families. Those affected by abuse need to be heard and supported,” an article on abuse from the Church reads.

The Church said it “encourages the reporting of abuse to civil authorities, and Church leaders and members must fulfill all legal obligations to report abuse.”

The Independent has reached out to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for comment.