Alex Constantine - November 17, 2009
By Marcus Wohlsen
AP, November 16, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO — The Mormon 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. 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.
“These are men who believe in the best of these institutions and believe that this kind of lawsuit can help improve these institutions and prevent child abuse,” Clark said. ...