Posted on 06/27/2014 9:09:58 AM PDT by Colofornian
Lawsuit claims teen girl was repeatedly abused by Mormon missionary in 1985 in Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert.
PALM SPRINGS A lawsuit filed Friday against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a church bishop and a missionary, claims a woman was repeatedly sexually abused when she was a teenager in Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert, and it was covered up.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Riverside County Superior Court in Palm Springs, contends that from July to November 1985, Jacqueline Tyler, then 13, was repeatedly abused by a missionary and that after a church bishop learned of the alleged abuse, her family was told to stay quiet and the bishop "made advance payment or partial payment of damages as an accommodation to plaintiff."
It adds that as a result of the alleged abuse, Tyler gave birth to a son on June 30, 1986.
Tyler contends she was sexually abused at least once a week. And that after she became pregnant, the lawsuit claims that the missionary paid for her to go to New York, where he attempted to cause her to miscarry "by physically abusing her body."
Tyler told the local bishop of the alleged abuse, her attorney Michael J. Kinslow said Friday, adding that rather than report the incident to authorities the bishop sought to send Tyler "out of the area and take the child from her and give it to another Mormon couple to raise."
Tyler "refused that plan," Kinslow said. "She has raised the young man and he is now 27 years old. He and mom are still in contact, and he understands that this is his mother, and that this is the person who has loved him throughout his life. It could have been a very different story if she had followed the plans of the church."
The missionary, described only as being in his 20s at the time, began working for a Mormon church in Palm Desert near where Tyler and her family lived, according to Kinslow.
According to state civil codes, the defendants are not named in the suit because a judge has to determine, as part of the legal process, whether the suit's allegations are valid. Once a judge has determined the suit has merit then the names of the defendants can be made public.
Also according to state civil codes, sexual abuse claims such as this one can be made years after the alleged abuse took place. The plaintiff must lodge the suit within three years of determining that she suffers from psychological damage caused by the alleged abuse.
Tyler, according to her suit, "continues to suffer great pain of mind and body, shock, emotional distress, embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, discharge, humiliation, and loss of enjoyment of life; (she has been) prevented and will continue to be prevented from performing ... daily activities and obtaining the full enjoyment of life."
"These things are very difficult, and there is a lot of humiliation, a lot of shame and a lot of fear that is put in to you," Tyler, 42, said Friday. "Because of the nature of crime, people are afraid to come forward, and when I did come forward, there was failure to act on multiple levels."
A representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints could not be reached for comment Friday.
This type of lawsuit is one of many that have been brought against secular and religious organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America, the Mormon church and the Catholic church during the past decade.
In January, two Salt Lake City men, ages 41 and 42, sued the Mormon church claiming they were sexually molested in Hawaii after the church recruited them to work at a pineapple farm there. The alleged abuse, they said, took place in the late 1980s and was committed by a Mormon missionary who was a leader at one of the church's camps.
In response to the Hawaii suit, Cody Craynor, a spokesman for the church, told The Salt Lake Tribune: "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has zero tolerance for abuse of any kind and works actively to prevent abuse. ... The church will examine the allegations and respond appropriately."
the fact that the Catholic church and the Mormon church and the Boy Scouts and any other large group with money would be targeted by lawyers is not surprising as well.....
Unfortunately pedophiles gravitate towards any group that has access to children
It is also very sad that some groups try and hide this fact
It’s a little more than greed. Sounds like you are blaming the victims. These people were really violated. The perps should pay by incarceration and those who covered up their crimes should be liable to the only recourse victims have - in the civil courts.
Interesting.
When other stories appear about a person having similarly raped a 13 yo and then eventually impregnating her, I don't seem to recall seeing comments about that rapist's "gravitation toward sin" as some explanation for why he committed the ongoing rapes.
(Is this explanation only being offered up because the rapist happened to be a Mormon mishie...or do you regularly offer posts of early-teens being sexually abused attributing it to mere "sin gravitation" by said rapists?)
“CAUTION!! CHRISTIAN BASHING THREAD!! “
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If only Mormon Missionaries were allowed to marry?
As of post two, lawyers are added to the thread, not just “Christian bashing”.
Watch yer sef’ - soon some post will slag you about whether LDS really are Christians.
Some days, I wonder if we are just sales boosters for the popcorn industry.
It took her 28 years to figure out she had been emotionally traumatized?
Sorry, but $$$$.
No. That's me. I love working with children.
Har!! Its funny 'cuz its true.
Perhaps, but not sure you would be good at trying to get inside EVERY SINGLE sexually abused (from early teenhood) woman and pronounce judgment upon them to the world that their lone motivation is $.
In some cultures -- where cover-ups are prevalent -- it's the "cultural" secret that's to remain in the closet...just like how in some families -- where cover-ups are prevalent...the victim may "protect" the family perps for quite some time.
The timing issue of lawsuits isn't only about getting recompense. For many victims, it's the nerve to finally go public with the matter...and also breaking the cycle of keeping it all hush-hush.
But they always seem to be looking for the deep pockets, and they just happen to ask for large sums.
The real guilty parties are the rapist and the girl’s parents. I don’t see the parents named in the suit.
As tempted as I am to hit the abuse button, I won’t. I believe it says more about the poster of that image than the one they are attempting to denigrate.
Not one of us who reject mormon doctrine and theology don’t believe the scurrilous and filthy statement contained in that image. We all believe that mormons are children of God. The Biblical God, not one of the millions of mormon gods who their doctrine teaches and states is a “perfected man who earned his godhood”.
In fact, it may be too much for some minds to comprehend since any opposition to something they hold in regard is to be viewed as “hatred”, regardless of any facts posted to the contrary.
I’m grateful for the truth and knowledge posted on FR that prompted me to further investigate the veracity of mormonism and to have found my way out of it.
Will the legal case be called False Prophets v False Profits?
C'mon now...start listing the lawyers you know from around the country who are going to "specialize" in asking for small sums...
Yes, attorneys represent their clients...but they don't always represent the initial or preferential leanings of their clients. Besides, we all know the legal formula. Ask big. Expect a small response. And settle somewhere in between.
” I dont see the parents named in the suit.”
Does it matter? The Girl is now a woman. All she needs is her lawyer. I figure her parents will be called in to testify. In fact I hope they are called in, because I wanna know how this happened in the first place.
Why so long?
Rape ignoring reply...
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