LDS Church, Boy Scouts named in abuse lawsuit

SAN FRANCISCO — The LDS Church and Boy Scouts of America were named as defendants in lawsuits Monday claiming childhood sexual abuse by youth leaders decades ago.

Alleged victims filed suits against both organizations in San Francisco and Seattle, and against the church alone in Portland, Ore.

The plaintiffs are all represented by Portland attorney Kelly Clark, who has brought similar suits against the church and the Boy Scouts in the past.

In the suit filed in San Francisco Superior Court, three brothers claim the church ignored their complaints about being molested by their Silicon Valley Boy Scout and Mormon youth leader in the 1970s and 1980s.

San Jose attorney Allen Ruby, representing the LDS Church in Northern California, said he was not aware of a case in which courts have found a church liable for abuse committed by a family member.

"The allegations in this case are the plaintiffs were abused by their stepfather," Ruby said. The church will defend itself against the suit, he said.

Kent Downing, chief executive of the Boy Scouts' Pacific Skyline Council, said he could not comment because he had not seen the lawsuit.

In the Seattle case, a man now in his early 40s claims he and other boys were abused in the late 1970s by an assistant Scoutmaster chosen by the church's Shelton Ward near Olympia.

Chuck Gordon, a Seattle-based lawyer for the church, said it would investigate the complaint and act accordingly.

"While we do sympathize with all victims of abuse, the church will defend itself against any accusation it deems to be false," Gordon said.

The lawsuit filed in Portland on behalf of a man who is now 46 claims a Mormon youth leader abused him between 1974 and 1977. The suit claims the abuse was reported to a church bishop but never communicated to law enforcement.

A lawyer for the church, Steve English, said the church "absolutely and unequivocally" condemns sex abuse and will investigate.