The complaint, filed Tuesday in federal court in Las Vegas, claims that in 1995 a high priest ordained within the church and responsible for counseling and teaching congregation members had raped the girl when she was 10 through 15.
The plaintiff’s name is not disclosed in the suit, and she is referred to as “Jane Doe C.H.” by attorney Margot Cutter.
The man is listed as a defendant, but the Las Vegas Review-Journal is withholding his name at this time because the unidentified plaintiff is alleging criminal activity, and it is unclear whether the man was charged with a crime.
According to the lawsuit, the girl was a member of the church, and the high priest served at the East Stake 1st Ward, located on East Wyoming Avenue near Interstate 11.
The suit alleges that the physical and sexual abuse continued for years, and in 1999, the girl reported the abuse to the church’s bishop, who oversees the ward and told her not to call the police.
“The Bishop assured her that the Church would ‘handle’ the situation,” Cutter wrote in the complaint. “Instead, the Church told Defendant about the Plaintiff’s disclosure and took no meaningful action to prevent further harm.”
Cutter wrote in the document that the high priest was “acting within the course and scope of his role as an employee, agent, servant, member, and/or volunteer” of the church when the abuses occurred.
Cutter said the church had a heightened duty to protect the girl, given the unique trust between religious leaders and congregants. The lawsuit’s claims include negligent supervision and breach of a mandatory duty to report suspected child abuse.
The attorney did not respond to inquiries about whether the high priest, identified as a Pahrump resident, has faced or will face criminal charges in connection with the allegations in the lawsuit.
A spokesperson for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not respond to the allegations in the complaint or clarify whether the man named as a defendant still holds a leadership position.
However, the spokesperson shared a link to the church’s website, which offers resources for victims of abuse and explains the church’s stance on recognizing patterns of and preventing abuse.