There are few crimes as serious or more tragic than sexual abuse. Unfortunately, some victims who once belonged to reliable religious organizations, such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), report being abused by those they should have been able to trust, such as bishops, priests, elders, and teachers. Today, more victims are coming forward, and in some cases, they are even filing lawsuits against the LDS Church for the way these incidents were handled. Let’s break down what is going on, who may be eligible to file a claim and why there may be limited time to act.
Who Can Take Legal Action?
Now, some individuals who were abused while they were part of the LDS Church might have an opportunity to seek justice and compensation, but the window of time available is narrow.
• You’re below the age of 40
• You were under 18 when the abuse occurred
• The abuse took place at an LDS event, mission, church trip, or in a church facility or was done by a member of the LDS Church who was in a position of authority
• You do not already have an attorney representing you
If you are in this situation, or you know someone who is, you may wish to talk to a lawyer experienced in church-related abuse cases. Even if the abuse occurred decades ago, you may still be able to step forward and procure the justice you deserve; however, time to act may run out.
Why a Lot of Victims Did Not Report Abuse
One of the major difficulties in such cases has been that many people who were victimized did not speak up for years or even decades. There are several reasons why.
• Victims commonly felt ashamed or that no one would believe their story.
• Some of them were told by family members, or by church leaders, to keep quiet and not make trouble.
• Others were afraid of being blamed, punished, ostracized, or losing status in the religious community.
In some cases, the structure of the church itself was an obstacle to speaking up. For instance, church officials at times dealt with reports of abuse internally rather than share them with police. Survivors and advocates have maintained that approach protected the church’s image instead of victims.
A 2021 Associated Press investigation examined what the LDS Church had done in terms of handling abuse cases. Their report suggests the church had some policies in place to shield these situations from outside scrutiny or legal fallout. These practices could have allowed abuse to go undetected and victims to struggle to get help.
Abuse Timeline
The history of abuse cases dates back to the 1980s. The following is a chronological timeline with major events
1980s-1990s: The Emergence of Cases
Among the first known reports of abuse in the LDS Church occurred in the 1980s and 1990s. Victims said that local church leaders, including bishops or other trusted members, had abused them as children. Many victims say the church did not report the abuse to the police. Rather, the church addressed such situations in private meetings or used church discipline to keep the accused from facing legal penalties.
1997: The Frank Curtis Case
It was after a 1997 case involving Frank Curtis, a former bishop of the LDS Church in Arizona, that national attention was drawn to the issue. Curtis had been charged with sexually molesting his own daughters for many years. The case raised grave questions about how church leaders either responded to, or failed to respond to, allegations of this sort. But this was not the only offense this man committed, as his daughters were not the only victims.
A man in Portland, Oregon, Jeremiah Scott, was another victim of his. Scott sued The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He alleged that the church did not shield him and others from his abuser whom he identified as Franklyn Curtis. The lawsuit said Curtis had a history of molesting children and had been excommunicated from the church for it. But eventually the church re-added his name as a member and awarded him the revered position of high priest.
Scott was just a boy when his mother asked Curtis to move in with them in 1991. At this time, the church did not alert her, or the family, to Curtis’s history. Scott later said Curtis sexually abused him during that time. Scott contended that the church had concealed Curtis’s history of abuse and had not acted to prevent further abuse. So, Scott sued for $1.5 billion.
The case did not proceed to trial, but the matter was settled by the LDS Church. They settled with Scott for $3 million to end the legal case. The settlement, though it offered some financial closure, still left many questions about how the church had treated known abusers, and how much they had done to protect children.
2003: Abuse in the Field
Missionaries even understand the dangers. In 2003, the LDS Church reached a settlement in a lawsuit from a former missionary who alleged that a mission president sexually abused him in the 1980s. The lawsuit raised questions about safety during church-sponsored missions, where young men and women typically live far from home.
2007: Lawsuit in Oregon
Enter the 2007 lawsuit in Oregon. A past church leader has been charged with sexually abusing a child in the 1990s. Once more, the victim said, the church did not report the abuse or take any other meaningful measures to prevent it.
2008: Timothy McCleve Case
The community characterized Timothy McCleve as a respected LDS Bishop, a high-ranking role within the Mormon Church. But 2008 would bring his dark deeds to the surface. He was convicted of sexually abusing three little girls who were sisters in Weber County, Utah. The crimes horrified the local area and devastated the victims and their families.
During the trial, details emerged that McCleve had abused the sisters over a period, using his role of trust to target them. The mother of a six-year-old child stepped forward, saying her daughter was also a victim. This added to an already painful case.
On September 15, 2008, McCleve was sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in prison for his crimes. His case is just one of many that highlight how much harm can be done by religious leaders when they use their influence to harm the people they are supposed to protect. It also started discussion about how the church deals with abuse, and how much it is doing to report and stop it.
2012 A Leaked Recording Sparks Outrage
The public became even more alarmed in 2012 when a recording surfaced online. A church official in the recording was heard advising a victim not to contact law enforcement about sex abuses. This moment had some wondering if the LDS Church was placing its image above the prevention of child abuse.
2015: A West Virginia Suit Gets Notice
A law firm with offices in Kentucky was hired in September 2014 to evaluate the legal options available to affected consumers. A former bishop in West Virginia was charged in 2015 with sexually abusing a child. The case raised more questions about the church’s policies on handling and reporting abuse. Critics also said that church leaders had too much power to keep things quiet.
2017: Erik Hughes Case
Another former LDS Bishop, Erik Hughes was arrested and charged with serious crimes in 2017. He entered a guilty plea to two second-degree felonies for forcible sexual abuse and one third-degree felony for attempted influence of a witness. He caused pain and inflicted fear on the 3 victims who came forward to tell their stories.
The case exposed how Hughes had abused his position of trust in the church to exploit his victims. The charge of witness tampering demonstrated that he had also attempted to disrupt the legal process to avoid being held to account. His guilty plea meant that he had hurt people he was meant to guide and to shield.
In this case, the bravery of the survivors is what led to Hughes being held accountable. That they had the courage to share their stories, despite the suffering it brings, was incredibly courageous and helped stop more abuse.
2018: Joseph L. Bishop Case
Serious allegations were also leveled in 2018 at Joseph L. Bishop, a former Missionary Training Center president in Provo, Utah. Women began stepping forward saying he had sexually abused them in the 1980s when he served as their missionary leader. The Provo training center is where young men and women are trained to become missionaries, and Bishop was in a position of great authority.
The women said that the bishop exploited his position and his power, and this cause them to feel powerless. Their allegations drew national attention and renewed questions about how the LDS. Church deals with reports of sexual abuse, particularly those involving high-ranking members.
This case served as a reminder to many that abuse can occur even in sacred places and prompted many to question whether church officials were being held accountable for their conduct.
2018: Abusive Behavior Reported During a Church Event
In 2018, the church was sued on accusations that a child was assaulted by a former employee at a church-sponsored event. This case left many parents wondering how much the church actually knew about the people working with children — and how it acted when things went wrong.
2020: Abuse by a Well-Known Church Leader
In 2020, a woman shared a harrowing tale. She said her father, a prominent church leader in the LDS Church, had sexually abused her over a period of many years. She said she reported what was happening to the church authorities, but they did not take her seriously. Her case raised questions about whether the church was really protecting victims or protecting its leaders.
2021–2022: More Suits From Around the Country
In 2021, a lawsuit was brought in Montana against a former LDS church leader who was accused of molesting a child in the 1990s. The lawsuit alleged that the church was aware of the abuse and did not report it. In 2022, an additional lawsuit was brought by a former missionary who claimed they were abused by another missionary during their service. These cases raised similar questions about the internal policies of the church, and how far its power extends to determine who gets to know what.
2023: A Church Cover-Up Exposed
Two years later, investigative journalists disclosed what they described as a “pattern of cover-up” of abuse in the LDS Church in 2023. Church leaders commonly failed to report abuse to the police, according to their findings. Instead, they handled it privately. Some reports even said the church drew on legal tactics, including “clergy privilege” and internal hotlines, to protect itself from accountability.
December 2023: Arizona Case Dismissed
In December 2023, an Arizona judge threw out a case against the LDS Church. It was the case of Paul Adams, who had molested daughters for years. Church officials had known about the abuse but did not report it, citing “clergy privilege.” The court found that they had no legal duty to do so. The decision upset many advocates who felt the law was used to shield abusers instead of children.
2024: More Legal Challenges
Legal cases increased against the LDS Church in 2024. In January, audio recordings revealed that church lawyers had advised a bishop not to testify in the case of child abuse. The bishop would not talk, and the case crumbled. Later that year, a California jury awarded $2.28 billion to a woman who was abused by her LDS stepfather. The church was included in the lawsuit because the abuse took place on church property.
In 2024, in a related case, the LDS Church was ordered to contribute $250 million to the settlement of a lawsuit involving the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). LDS leaders had abused many when they were working in BSA leadership capacities.
2025: Settlements Behind Closed Doors
In 2025, reports surfaced that the LDS Church was seeking to quietly resolve abuse lawsuits. On June 18, the church tentatively agreed to settle over 100 lawsuits in California. These involved allegations of sexual abuse during childhood by church leaders. The specific terms of the settlement remained confidential, but each survivor would be paid according to the severity of his or her case and the strength of evidence.
As of June 29, it is apparent that the church had selected a private pathway for addressing these cases. Instead of going to court, the church had lawyers send in lists of their clients’ names and histories. The church individually reviewed each case behind closed doors and then decided on what could be a potential settlement. There were no public hearings, no judges, and no juries. Everything happened behind closed doors.
Some survivors welcomed this approach, particularly if it spared them from having to recount their trauma in court. For others, it wasn’t genuine justice. It was a means for the church to manage the situation to avoid negative publicity. Lawyers acknowledged that this process might not be perfect, but it often allowed survivors to receive more money and faster results than they would if forced to run the gauntlet of a protracted public trial.
April-June 2025: Hundreds of Lawsuits Filed
Hundreds of child abuse lawsuits were filed, heavily burdening the system. Some 91 claims against the LDS Church were filed in California against the church in April 2025.
One such case emerged from Modesto. Though the abuse was said to have occurred many years ago, it was added to the 91 other cases from 26 counties covering locations including Sacramento, Fresno, and San Luis Obispo. These are serious allegations of sexual abuse spanning multiple decades. The Church also conspired to cover up the abuse, instead of reporting it to the police, the lawsuits say.
In the Modesto case, a woman told detectives that she was victimized, between the age of 6 and 12, in both Hayward and Modesto. She said it was during Sunday class in 1989 when the teenage church member first victimized her. The boy then reportedly joined her in the bathroom and allegedly molested her. She said the abuse happened several times over a short period and included forced sex acts.
Her family later moved to Modesto, where she said another boy, the son of a local bishop, also started abusing her at church events. One took place at a church sleepover, she said, and the abuse persisted every few weeks for a year and a half until she moved away.
Survivors alleged that the church paid money and wielded influence to hush up the abuse. The cases were transferred to a special judge in Los Angeles to try to streamline matters.
Meanwhile, a group of lawyers had sought to consolidate all the federal LDS abuse cases into one big case — what is known, in legal jargon, as “multidistrict litigation” or MDL. But last month, the judges refused to grant the defense’s request. They said that the cases were too dissimilar to be thrown together for trial. This decision was great news for some survivors because it allowed individual survivors to challenge the company in court in the local jurisdictions.
Ongoing Concerns
By the middle of 2025, lawyers said more than 300 claims had already been filed around the country. The sums paid to some of the victims had reached $1 million. But survivors who lacked extensive documentation or whose cases were older would often get lower offers. Some described these payments as “hush money.”
There were also concerns about fairness. The settlements were private, and it was difficult to tell if all survivors were receiving equal treatment. With no court overseeing, it some felt the church had too much power.
These cases illustrate a painful truth: Even well-regarded institutions can be derelict in protecting the most vulnerable among us. But they also show courage. What the people are doing by speaking out is that they are exposing abuse, and they are calling for a change.
How Women Are Treated
Plenty of Mormon women, particularly those who attend schools that are owned by the LDS Church, are told — directly or indirectly — that they shoulder some of the blame if they become the victim of sexual abuse. They might hear that it’s the way they dress, or the way they act, or how hard they fought back against assault that will hold them accountable for the attack. It is an unfair message to victims, as it pressures them instead of the perpetrators.
Michael Austin, a Mormon university leader, believes that at a deeper level real change in Mormon culture is going to require letting go of harmful ideas. One such idea is that women are to blame for the behavior of men. Another is that women fabricate stories of abuse so as not to get into trouble. Some erroneously think a woman will never be assaulted if she follows church or school rule perfectly.
Austin argues that these beliefs shield predators and stigmatize victims. To make this world a safer and more respectful place, the LDS Church and its schools must stop scapegoating women and start fully punishing abusers. Victims need support and understanding — not condemnation. Getting rid of these old, harmful ideas is a big part of finding real justice and healing.
The Deep Impact of Abuse
Whether the abuse occurred in Richmond, Chicago, or anywhere else in the world, sexual abuse is something that can leave emotional scars for life. If the abuse occurs in a religious setting, it is fraught with even more complexity and misery.
Survivors frequently say they have difficulty with so much, as the abuse has impacted their lives in so many ways. Here are many of the challenges that they face.
• Depression, anxiety, or PTSD
• Loss of faith and spiritual bewilderment
• Trust issues in personal relationships
• Shame, even when it is undeserved
What hurt the most, some survivors say, was not only the abuse but also the neglect, denial, or cover-up by church leaders or members. That betrayal can be emotionally devastating.
Some people say that when folks are out here trying to get justice that they are only after the money. However, this is far from the truth. While the money is a nice bonus, getting justice helps with so much. Here are just some of the things that seeking justice can accomplish.
• Make the church and abuser responsible
• Find a sense of closure
• Access therapy and other resources
• Raise awareness to protect from further abuse
Why Legal Action Matters Now
Legislators in many states have altered or extended the statutes of limitation in child sex abuse cases. That means people who thought that it was already “too late” to file a lawsuit may now have a small window of time to do so.
Those changes give survivors an additional opportunity to come forward; however, time is limited. That’s why if you think you or a loved one may be eligible, it is so important to obtain a free, confidential case review as soon as possible. It may be daunting to file a suit, but survivors are not alone. Lawyers who specialize in these cases can guide them through the process with compassion, confidentiality, and expertise.
The Bigger Picture: What You Can Do to Fight Abuse
LDS Church abuse allegations highlight a major transparency problem in religious institutions that survivors, families, and advocates continue to fight for. There are many changes that people want to see.
• More and better training for church leaders on how to respond to abuse reports
• Clear guidance which prioritizes reporting to the police
• Support for church victims
• Public acknowledgment of past wrongs
Exposure of such cases also aids others who remain silent victims. It lets survivors know that what happened to them was not their fault — and that they can get the truth out.
What Families Should Know
If anyone in your family has been sexually abused by anyone who is connected to the LDS Church, or you suspect abuse may have taken place, you want to take it seriously. Listen without judgment, Provide them with emotional support, and assist them in exploring their legal options. You need not be an expert to pitch in and help. Simply being present, believing survivors, and aiding them in finding professional resources can make all the difference in the world.
The issue of sexual abuse in religious organizations is an exceedingly difficult subject, but one that must be acknowledged head-on. There may now be hope for victims of abuse at the hands of the LDS Church — but only for a short time.
Do not wait to get justice Act now.
Disclaimer: All allegations that have been mentioned in this content are still under legal review unless the convictions are final.