Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

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Just This Guy
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Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by Just This Guy » Fri Mar 23, 2018 5:15 pm

I wanted to give everyone an update on how the sexual abuse coverup case in Martins burg, WV is proceeding.

Jury trial started Jan 18, and is still ongoing.

There have been various dealing back and forth. Here are some report of how it has progressed.
http://www.journal-news.net/news/local- ... ch-begins/
http://www.journal-news.net/news/local- ... use-trial/
http://www.journal-news.net/news/local- ... on-church/
http://www.journal-news.net/news/local- ... -cover-up/
http://www.journal-news.net/news/local- ... on-church/
http://www.journal-news.net/news/local- ... week-five/
http://www.journal-news.net/news/local- ... eek-seven/
http://www.journal-news.net/news/local- ... st-church/

IT was put on hod for a couple weeks while the judge was out sick. It restarted earlier this week. According on one source, there was evidence presented today showing that the church has changed their story about what they knew about the abuser, showing a coverup.

https://www.facebook.com/MormonTips/vid ... 669796928/

I'm not sure I follow all this, so I can't really say where it is going. Maybe someof you can make more out of this.
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Red Ryder
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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by Red Ryder » Fri Mar 23, 2018 5:21 pm

Is the secret tape mentioned in your FB link played at the trial available to the public somewhere? That would be interesting to listen to.
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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by wtfluff » Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:50 am

Update: The church has settled, details are confidential.


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Just This Guy
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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by Just This Guy » Thu Jul 26, 2018 1:25 pm

What I am being told is the confidentiality is a procedural thing at this point and is court ordered, not a condition of the settlement from LDS Inc. The family of the victims are telling me that they intend to release details once all the paperwork as been finalized and the judge gives the okay.

We'll see what happens.
"The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move." -- Douglas Adams

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wtfluff
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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by wtfluff » Thu Jul 26, 2018 1:57 pm

Just This Guy wrote:
Thu Jul 26, 2018 1:25 pm
What I am being told is the confidentiality is a procedural thing at this point and is court ordered, not a condition of the settlement from LDS Inc. The family of the victims are telling me that they intend to release details once all the paperwork as been finalized and the judge gives the okay.

We'll see what happens.
Details released would be awesome.
Faith does not give you the answers, it just stops you asking the questions. -Frater Ravus

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moksha
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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by moksha » Thu Jul 26, 2018 2:15 pm

https://www.facebook.com/fred.karger.5/ ... 537250077/
Usually, the Church settles as soon as the plaintiff's attorney asks to see the Church financials. The settlement this time probably hinged on the strength of the case and a reading of the jury by a talented Stake Patriarch.
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
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Not Buying It
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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by Not Buying It » Fri Jul 27, 2018 5:48 am

This needs much wider publicity than it is getting. Things don’t change in the Church without a lot of negative publicity.
"The truth is elegantly simple. The lie needs complex apologia. 4 simple words: Joe made it up. It answers everything with the perfect simplicity of Occam's Razor. Every convoluted excuse withers." - Some guy on Reddit called disposazelph

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deacon blues
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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by deacon blues » Fri Jul 27, 2018 2:33 pm

It says the Church's agreement to settle with all plaintiffs is "an admission of guilt for covering up and continually reassigning church member, serial child sexual predator Michael Jensen." :o
Didn't they get Elder Oaks Memo? :?
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Just This Guy
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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by Just This Guy » Fri Jul 27, 2018 10:42 pm

It's an admission of guilt, not an apology, so Oaks' policy is still in effect.
"The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move." -- Douglas Adams

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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by wtfluff » Thu Aug 16, 2018 2:50 pm

Anyone hear / see any further updates on this, or is it just going to go down the tithing-dollars-paying-for-victim's-silence memory-hole?
Faith does not give you the answers, it just stops you asking the questions. -Frater Ravus

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BriansThoughtMirror
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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by BriansThoughtMirror » Fri Aug 17, 2018 8:33 am

Is any other news outlets covering this?
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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by BriansThoughtMirror » Fri Aug 17, 2018 8:42 am

Oh, I guess this was actually resolved a while ago, and I'm just late reading the news:

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2018/04 ... nia-abuse/
http://www.journal-news.net/news/local- ... urch-case/
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Arcturus
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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by Arcturus » Fri Aug 17, 2018 8:44 am

moksha wrote:
Thu Jul 26, 2018 2:15 pm
The settlement this time probably hinged on the strength of the case and a reading of the jury by a talented Stake Patriarch.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
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wtfluff
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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by wtfluff » Fri Aug 17, 2018 10:34 am

BriansThoughtMirror wrote:
Fri Aug 17, 2018 8:42 am
Oh, I guess this was actually resolved a while ago, and I'm just late reading the news:

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2018/04 ... nia-abuse/
http://www.journal-news.net/news/local- ... urch-case/
Yes it was settled, but one of our colleagues mentioned that the settlement details could eventually become public:
Just This Guy wrote:
Thu Jul 26, 2018 1:25 pm
What I am being told is the confidentiality is a procedural thing at this point and is court ordered, not a condition of the settlement from LDS Inc. The family of the victims are telling me that they intend to release details once all the paperwork as been finalized and the judge gives the okay.

We'll see what happens.

If details do become public, it will probably take some time, but I'm impatient. :roll:
Faith does not give you the answers, it just stops you asking the questions. -Frater Ravus

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Just This Guy
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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by Just This Guy » Fri Aug 17, 2018 1:43 pm

As of right now, I have not heard anything from the families involved on this.
"The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move." -- Douglas Adams

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wtfluff
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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by wtfluff » Sat Nov 17, 2018 4:25 pm

Faith does not give you the answers, it just stops you asking the questions. -Frater Ravus

IDKSAF -RubinHighlander

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moksha
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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by moksha » Sat Nov 17, 2018 10:33 pm

From the above link:
"They stop at nothing to attack the parents," said Tom Stollings, a former member of the church who is speaking up now.

Tom Stollings and Kelly H., are among the nine plaintiffs who sued the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Martinsburg, saying the church covered up years of sexual abuse, involving member Christopher Michael Jensen. They say the case was prolonged for nearly five years before a date for the civil trial was set in January in West Virginia.

"I felt like we were settled to shut up," said Kelly H.

The case was officially settled almost five months ago. While Tom and Kelly say they aren't allowed to speak about the settlement, they are breaking their silence in hopes of protecting many more children.
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
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Anon70
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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by Anon70 » Sun Nov 18, 2018 12:50 am

Could they lose their settlement by speaking up?

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Just This Guy
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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by Just This Guy » Mon Nov 19, 2018 5:39 am

According to the people I know who are involved, the terms of the settlement only prevent them from commenting on the actual amount of the settlement. Everything else is open. So unless they state exactly how much they were paid, they are not breaking any terms.
"The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move." -- Douglas Adams

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Emower
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Re: Martinsburg Abuse Coverup Case

Post by Emower » Wed Nov 28, 2018 10:32 pm

https://www.athoughtfulfaith.org/270-se ... -juliette/


Holy cow. This was a tough listen.
TL;DR,
The local leaders are douchebags, the members are douchebags, and the top leaders are douchebags. Kirton and McConkie are evil.
The description of obstructionism is infuriating. At one point when Jensen was brought back from his mission, placed in a members home without telling them any of the circumstances and actually lying about why he was home, local leaders were planning on shipping him out to some relative's home who had a ton of foster children. The sexual abuse situation in this church is so bad.

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