Free Republic

Women who say they survived sexual abuse within a group of conservative Baptist churches are using an unusual legal method to try and hold their alleged abuser accountable — the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law was passed in 1970 as a way to prosecute mobs as whole entities rather than try mob-related activities individually. RICO has most notably been used to prosecute criminal enterprises such as the mafia, gangs and corrupt police departments and politicians. On Wednesday, attorneys argued before a U.S. District Appeals Court that RICO should be applied...