A jury in West Virginia will hear the evidence against the Mormon Church in a lawsuit accusing local church officials of covering up allegations that the son of officials abused 12 children over more than five years.

that the lawsuit, filed by children who were between the ages of 3 and 12 when they say they were sexually abused by Christopher Michael Jensen, will go to trial Jan. 8 in Berkeley County. Jensen was sentenced in 2013 to 35 to 75 years in prison for sexually abusing two minors.

The lawsuit was initially filed in 2013, and accuses the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and its leaders of covering up the abuse, enabling Jensen to commit further acts and trying to intimidate plaintiffs' families.

The family’s attorneys in the civil case believe local church leaders discussed the allegations of abuse by Jensen as early as 2007 and that no one reported the allegations to law enforcement. The lawyers also claim that church leaders in Utah knew Jensen was convicted of other sex-related crimes in Utah back in 2004.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provided this two-paragraph statement to WJLA: