Oregon lawsuit alleges LDS Church failed to intervene in child sex abuse case
PORTLAND, Ore. () — A former member of a religious organization in Southwest Washington has claimed church leaders failed to report her sexual abuse to authorities.
Portland-based law firm Crew Janci filed the negligence lawsuit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the U.S. District Court's District Of Oregon on Tuesday. The plaintiff, identified under the pseudonym Julie Doe, alleged her 30-year-old adoptive father Craig Ford started sexually abusing her in December 2015 when she was 15 years old.
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Court documents show that Ford was convicted of child molestation and related charges involving another adoptive daughter in Clark County in 2018, before being convicted of charges involving Julie Doe in Linn County years later. He has since been incarcerated, but plaintiffs are arguing the Mormon organization neglected to intervene beforehand and prevent the teenagers from being abused.
According to the complaint, their adoptive mother, Jennifer, informed the LDS Church's bishop and stake president about sexual letters her husband had written to the victim. Attorneys said she also told leaders he purchased a sex toy for Julie Doe, and she suspected the two had a sexual relationship.
The lawsuit alleges Ford took Julie to Albany alone in April 2016, when he continued to sexually abuse her 'on an almost daily basis' for several months. The plaintiffs accuse the church of knowingly failing to intervene, even with knowledge that the victim's adoptive parents were separated.
'Around the time of these events, the Mormon Church publicly pronounced that its child abuse prevention policies were the 'gold standard,'' Attorney Peter Janci, who is representing Julie Doe, said in a statement. 'However, in this case, we intend to prove that the Mormon Church turned a blind eye to child sexual abuse. This failure led to our client suffering prolonged and increasing abuse for months.'
The complaint alleges Craig was not reported until the Fall of 2016, when his youngest daughter shared a handwritten note with a classmate that said, ' I wish my teacher knew that we think my dad had sex with sister[;] want to talk to you.'
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The classmate's mother contacted the Vancouver Police Department, which then opened an investigation into the abuse claims.
The plaintiff is seeking $25 million in the lawsuit. KOIN 6 has reached out to the LDS Church for comment.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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