SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A woman who says a former Mormon missionary leader raped her in the 1980s is accusing church officials of knowing about the man’s prior sexual misconduct before he was appointed to the powerful position.
McKenna Denson’s attorneys allege in a court document filed Tuesday that Joseph L. Bishop disclosed to church leaders his “acts of sexual predation” while he was a mission president in Argentina in the late 1970s.
Denson’s filing comes in response to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ request last month asking a judge to dismiss the lawsuit. Church attorneys argued many people who could have testified about what happened in 1984 have died or are left with only cloudy memories, leaving the faith unable to fully defend itself.
Bishop has denied raping her.
Mormon church spokesman Eric Hawkins declined comment Wednesday.
