Mormon church to settle over 100 sex abuse lawsuits
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Salt Lake Temple at Temple Square in Salt Lake City Associated Press / Photo by Rick Bowmer, File

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints last month agreed to a settlement in principle for over 100 child sex abuse cases filed in the California court system. The San Diego Union-Tribune first reported the burgeoning settlement on Thursday, citing joint motions noting that parties reached an initial settlement during an April mediation session. Details on the tentative settlement were not released. Over 100 plaintiffs sued the Utah-based church in the California judicial system last year, with many accusing church leaders of abusing power to groom and sexually abuse minors, according to the news outlet.
What is a settlement “in principle”? An agreement in principle is a step short of a formal agreement, usually thought of as an agreement’s unofficial rough draft. An agreement in principle denotes that the parties generally agree with the terms of the deal, but it's not formally written and binding yet and some details still need to be ironed out.
WORLD reached out to the plaintiff’s law firm, Slater Slater Schulman, for comment, which the firm declined. WORLD also reached out to the LDS church Global Media Relations Director Doug Andersen for comment on the possible settlement and did not receive a reply by Thursday afternoon.
Dig deeper: Read Samantha Gobba’s report on a federal court upholding Utah’s ban on polygamy, challenged by lawsuits from LDS church members.

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