Reza Gostar

The Desert Sun

PALM SPRINGS – A lawsuit filed Friday against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a church bishop and a missionary, claims a woman was repeatedly sexually abused when she was a teenager in Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert, and it was covered up.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Riverside County Superior Court in Palm Springs, contends that from July to November 1985, Jacqueline Tyler, then 13, was repeatedly abused by a missionary and that after a church bishop learned of the alleged abuse, her family was told to stay quiet and the bishop "made advance payment or partial payment of damages as an accommodation to plaintiff."

It adds that as a result of the alleged abuse, Tyler gave birth to a son on June 30, 1986.

Tyler contends she was sexually abused at least once a week. And that after she became pregnant, the lawsuit claims that the missionary paid for her to go to New York, where he attempted to cause her to miscarry "by physically abusing her body."

the lawsuit claims that the missionary paid for her to go to New York, where he attempted to cause her to miscarry "by physically abusing her body."

Tyler told the local bishop of the alleged abuse, her attorney Michael J. Kinslow said Friday, adding that rather than report the incident to authorities the bishop sought to send Tyler "out of the area and take the child from her and give it to another Mormon couple to raise."

Tyler "refused that plan," Kinslow said. "She has raised the young man and he is now 27 years old. He and mom are still in contact, and he understands that this is his mother, and that this is the person who has loved him throughout his life. It could have been a very different story if she had followed the plans of the church."

The missionary, described only as being in his 20s at the time, began working for a Mormon church in Palm Desert near where Tyler and her family lived, according to Kinslow.

According to state civil codes, the defendants are not named in the suit because a judge has to determine, as part of the legal process, whether the suit's allegations are valid. Once a judge has determined the suit has merit then the names of the defendants can be made public.

Also according to state civil codes, sexual abuse claims such as this one can be made years after the alleged abuse took place. The plaintiff must lodge the suit within three years of determining that she suffers from psychological damage caused by the alleged abuse.

Tyler, according to her suit, "continues to suffer great pain of mind and body, shock, emotional distress, embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, discharge, humiliation, and loss of enjoyment of life; (she has been) prevented and will continue to be prevented from performing ... daily activities and obtaining the full enjoyment of life."

"These things are very difficult, and there is a lot of humiliation, a lot of shame and a lot of fear that is put in to you," Tyler, 42, said Friday. "Because of the nature of crime, people are afraid to come forward, and when I did come forward, there was failure to act on multiple levels."

A representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints could not be reached for comment Friday.

This type of lawsuit is one of many that have been brought against secular and religious organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America, the Mormon church and the Catholic church during the past decade.

In January, two Salt Lake City men, ages 41 and 42, sued the Mormon church claiming they were sexually molested in Hawaii after the church recruited them to work at a pineapple farm there. The alleged abuse, they said, took place in the late 1980s and was committed by a Mormon missionary who was a leader at one of the church's camps.

In response to the Hawaii suit, Cody Craynor, a spokesman for the church, told The Salt Lake Tribune: "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has zero tolerance for abuse of any kind and works actively to prevent abuse. ... The church will examine the allegations and respond appropriately."