https://www.newsnationnow.com/cuomo-show/lawsuit-david-farley-oregon-doctor-mormon-church/

"Three women who are part of an ongoing civil lawsuit against a former Oregon doctor are speaking about what they say is a culture within the Mormon church that permits abusers to go unpunished"

Yes, this is an update on that case. 3 years later he still has not been excommunicated!



“To this day, they have not taken away his membership or punished him whatsoever,” Snow said.

Three years after being filed, the civil lawsuit against Farley is still moving through the courts. A status hearing is scheduled for December, and an attorney representing one of the alleged victims told the West Linn Tidings it could be 2025 before a trial begins."

I think he lives in Nephi, Utah now.

https://www.whitepages.com/name/David-Farley/UT

If I could be a fly on the wall I would love the know if he has a church calling and if so which one.

Yes, he is in Nephi Utah.

https://floodlit.org/a/a113/

"Farley was an active LDS/Mormon church member, including a stake high council member"

The power of discernment was once again missing.

He is zoned for Nephi 5th ward.

https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/99171

We hope to talk with some of the victims in this case.

Sadly, it's just one of several I know of where a Mormon doctor allegedly sexually abused/assaulted or groomed dozens of victims. I can think of at least three with over 100 alleged victims:

https://floodlit.org/a/a426/ - was a Mormon church member and physician in Idaho; was accused of sexual abuse by over 125 women and children (some as young as 13 years old); admitted to sexual abuse; found guilty of misdemeanor battery; sentenced to 30 days in jail; Mormon church placed him on probation and took his temple recommend.

https://floodlit.org/a/a113/ - was a doctor in Oregon publicly accused of sexually abusing over 120 patients; the alleged abuse occurred over a span of many years while he was an active LDS/Mormon church member, including a stake high council member.

https://floodlit.org/a/a038/ - was an LDS church member and obstetrician/gynecologist (OB/GYN) doctor in Provo, Utah; in 2022, dozens of women joined a class action lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault; in 2022, a Utah judge dismissed the case; as of October 2023, nearly 300 victims had come forward, but he had not been charged with a sex crime.

It seems to me that if LDS Inc excommunicates somebody based on allegations in an ongoing lawsuit or criminal case, they can be sued for defamation if the person is found not guilty/liable. If the person is found guilty/liable, the church can still be sued because the excommunication defamed them which prejudiced public opinion and caused the person to lose the suit/criminal case.

So LDS Inc loses either way. Their best course of action is to take no action or limited action until the court case is resolved. In this case, not excommunicating Farley seems reasonable to me. Putting him on the High Council OTOH looks like an unforced error to me.

> It seems to me that if LDS Inc excommunicates
> somebody based on allegations in an ongoing
> lawsuit or criminal case, they can be sued for
> defamation if the person is found not
> guilty/liable. If the person is found
> guilty/liable, the church can still be sued
> because the excommunication defamed them which
> prejudiced public opinion and caused the person to
> lose the suit/criminal case.

I'm skeptical of that.

In the first place, you could make the same argument about disfellowshipping, probation, informal probation, and even about discussions in ward council meetings. All of those measures have defamatory implications. In the second, the church need not explain the reasons for its punishment decisions at all.

But third, and most important, church's internal deliberations and punishments are covered by the first amendment. The only case in which a court would pursue this sort of thing is if the punishment itself were criminal, such as the denial of medical care, corporeal discipline, or execution.

There's not a court in the country that would put itself in the position of second-guessing a religion's decision to sever its ties with a member.

I guess that's reasonable if it's unproven.

I'm getting lost in all these new cases.