FR> I received a strange rant from an ex-mormon who
FR> talked about getting raped by a "Bishop" in the cult.
And I wish I had saved it, damn it.
sq> I would hope that that wouldn't surprise you.
No. I had not been given enough details to check into the claim and, since the writer was on psycho drugs, at the time I didn't want to check into it. Now I wish that I could because I want to compile an anti-Mormon series for my web site. If I had been thinking clearly, I would have checked into it, asked questions, and telephoned the Mormon church and, if all checked out, added the entry to my Clergy Abuse series folders.
SQ> I am of the opinion that molestation and rape at the
SQ> hands of clergy is not peculiar to the Roman Catholic
SQ> Church (to be fair, though, I'm not familiar with
SQ> publicized cases of rape as related to priests. I'm
SQ> defining "rape" in this context, though, as "Violence
SQ> of a sexual nature carried out against a member of
SQ> the opposite sex.").
Nearly all of the newspaper clippings that I have in my Clergy Abuse series don't involve violence of any kind, only the power of Authority. The victims allow themselves to be victimized without even a struggle.
An undisclosed out-of-court settlement was made by the Mormon Church to Cynthia Brown of Mesa, Az., who accused the church of failing to report to law enforcement authorities that a man had molested her daughter, age 2. A July 1988 ruling by the Arizona Court of Appeals had compelled two Mormon bishops and another church official to testify about conversations they had with RICHARD KENNETH RAY about molesting children. Ray, 47, was sentenced in Sept. 1984 to 61 years in prison for molesting 5 girls, including Brown's daughter. (Arizona Republic, 1/11/90)
Parents of 2 Norfolk boys sexually assaulted by their Cub Scout leader filed a $35 million lawsuit against Boy Scouts of America & the sponsoring Mormon Church. Both groups were called negligent for failing to check the background of Scout leader ERIC PATRICK "RICKY" AVANT, 29, who is serving 26 years in prison after admitting he molested the boys. Avant was convicted of similar offenses in 1979. (Washington Post, 11/1/89)
You have to wonder why the judicial system let this monster out.
Christian Mormon Sunday-school teacher John Midgett: molesting 8 girls, some only five years old. (California)
Art Phillips, 43, of Arizona, was arrested in March and arraigned in April for fondling a 15-year-old girl and "solicitation to commit commercial sexual exploitation of a minor" (read: he wanted to take nude photos of her). Phillips is a Mormon sunday school teacher.
http://www.linkline.com/personal/frice/index.htm