5th Navajo sues Mormon church for alleged sexual abuse

A fifth person has filed a lawsuit against the Mormon church accusing religious officials of not doing enough to protect Navajo children from sexual abuse in a now defunct church-run foster program that placed thousands of American Indian children with Mormon families. The new lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Navajo Nation court by a woman who says was sexually abused as a teenager over a three-year period from 1968-1971 by her foster father at a house in Spanish Fork, Utah. She says was 15-years-old when the abuse began. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints declined comment on the new case. Church officials haven’t commented on the abuse allegations, though lawyers have pointed out that families volunteered to participate in the program and a large number never reported any problems.