Lake Elsinore, California, woman awarded $2.28 billion in abuse suit that named LDS Church

A California jury has awarded $2.28 billion to a woman who said she was sexually abused for years by her stepfather, in a lawsuit that also named her mother and the local congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in which both parents were active. The award was made Tuesday by the panel in Riverside County Superior Court, according to an announcement from the law firm of Gary A. Dordick, which represented the woman. She is identified in court papers only as Jane Doe. She said she was sexually assaulted by her stepfather from age 5 until she was 14.

The lawsuit alleged that beginning in the 1980s, the stepfather sexually abused the girl at the family’s home in Lake Elsinore and at events, meetings and property of the local church. The suit quoted the plaintiff as saying that “these ongoing acts of abuse brought Plaintiff to the brink of suicide.”

The negligence and sexual abuse suit also named the church and the woman’s mother. It alleged that the woman repeatedly told church officials, including local bishops, about the abuse, but that they did not report it to law enforcement, in violation of church policy. The suit further alleged that church officials used “intimidation and shaming tactics” to keep her from telling anyone outside the church. These are allegations in the lawsuit and were not established as findings in the source material. Protecting children from abuse is a responsibility that falls to those who know of it, a duty the suit says was neglected (Proverbs 31:8-9).

According to the lawsuit, the stepfather was arrested in 1997 after the woman told her high school basketball coach about the abuse. He pleaded guilty to committing lewd acts with a child under 14 and served three years in state prison, the suit said. The Associated Press did not name the stepfather or the mother in order to protect the victim’s identity. An email seeking comment from the stepfather’s attorney was not returned.

The church settled its part of the lawsuit for $1 million in December. While denying wrongdoing, it reached that settlement, according to the woman’s lawyers. The mother settled for $200,000 in February, the lawyers said.

The stepfather did not appear at trial on the first day of jury selection. He withdrew his answer to the lawsuit rather than face a warrant for his arrest, and “accordingly, his attorney was not able to participate in the trial,” the law firm said in an email.

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