I joined PostMo(dot)com back in 2009 and I remember we had a nice thread on this case. I don't remember all the details, but it was pretty obvious that the parents knew of the son's 'propensities' because they exiled him from the house so that he couldn't molest his younger siblings; he slept in a some kind of a little structure in the backyard and the house was kept locked up so he couldn't get in...

But in spite of that the parents recommended him as a babysitter. I don't recall him being any kind of a 'youth leader'. I recall that there were lots of allegations that their bishop knew there was something wrong...

I know there were online stories detailing allegations but I'm too lazy at the moment, having just consumed Costco rotisserie chicken, Costco beans and rice and Wal*Mart cheap ass beer. Life is good.

ETA: Ah, heck, I can never stop myself from a good search: Full name of the convicted abusers is Christopher Michael Jensen and
the law suit was filed back in 2013:

"The suit names the Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the church; Don Fishel, who was the bishop of the Hedgesville Ward for the Martinsburg stake of the church between 2007 and 2013 and a former member of the Stake High Council for Martinsburg; Steven Grow, stake president in Martinsburg; Jensen, who was a member and elder of the Hedgesville Ward of the church; Jensen's father, a high priest and member of the Stake High Council for Martinsburg between 2007 and 2010; and Jensen's mother, a member of the Hedgesville Ward and Relief Society president for the church in Martinsburg between 2006 and 2009."

-- http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3088511/posts

But I haven't seen an outcome of the lawsuit...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/21/2017 07:39PM by elderolddog.

Yes, I do vaguely recall that case.

Wal-Mart sells beer? That's quite the upgrade from my local Wal-Mart. You must live in the land of the Lotus-Eaters. :)

$11/24 pack!!!

The 411 on the current status of the case:

It was filed in 2013

In Dec. of 2016 the circuit court issued a summary judgment in favor of the LDS church and plaintiffs filed and appeal

On 6/14/2017 West Virginia Supreme Court reversed it all and sent it back for full trial, including the possibility of punitive damages.

What happened since is unknown to me, but is predictable given that punitives are in the mix: the church will settle and there will be NDA collected and the plaintiffs will dismiss the action, which can be tricky when you have plaintiffs who are still minors.

Here's the 78 page decision. The Chief Justice delivered the opinion and he really slapped the circuit court judge upside his head. It's dry reading, but all the details regarding the actions of the criminally convicted young man are provided, along with the allegations made against the other parties such as to constitute a conspiracy.

https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/MORMAN-CASE.pdf

You're a good man, Elderoldog! I'll check it out a bit later.

Read through the case and think this kid may have a future in Alabama politics.

Lord knows his parents will be there to support him!

Thanks for posting, D.E. I'm gonna put it up on FB.