This lawsuit tells the shocking story of a single LDS congregation, one convicted sexual predator, and local leaders who, at best, turned a blind eye, or at worst, were complicit in the abuse of children over decades.
Although this is only one story, it’s a representative sample of the massive institutional abuse in the modern Mormon church. David Harvey Herget (1943–2005) was a high-ranking member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mountlake Terrace, Washington, and served as a teacher for the LDS Church's youth seminary program.
David Herget and the Mountlake Ward’s story serves as a critical microhistory of what children are experiencing within the global Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and is part of a broader pattern of sex abuse cases within the LDS Church.
How David Herget, the Mountlake Ward, & Child Abuse in the LDS Church Reveal Systemic Failure That Has Led to Major Lawsuits
In October 2025, a lawsuit was filed by Dolman Law Group against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in King County, Washington. This LDS church lawsuit was brought on behalf of four men, who allege that church leadership knowingly enabled David Herget’s access to children despite his history of sexual violence.
The complaint identifies the men as John Does, all of whom were sexually abused as children in the Mountlake Ward in the early 2000s.
Survivors of sexual abuse connected to the LDS Church can file civil lawsuits against the Church itself for enabling, concealing, or failing to act on reports of abuse.
This case is part of a broader pattern of LDS church abuse and Mormon sexual abuse lawsuits, where many survivors are seeking justice for sexual abuse connected to the LDS Church. The central allegation of the case is one of profound institutional failure: the LDS Church allegedly took a convicted child rapist, advocated for his leniency, welcomed him back into the fold, and actively elevated him to a position of immense spiritual authority over children.
The pain and lifelong suffering of the survivors in this case were, according to the lawsuit, completely preventable.
The Known History of David Herget
The suit centers on the actions of David Herget, a former LDS bishop whose history of violent sexual crime was a matter of public record.
According to court filings, David Herget was convicted in 1993 for raping his own 13-year-old daughter. Though he was sentenced to seven years in prison, he served a shockingly brief 180 days before being released on probation.
This outcome was reportedly the result of seriously unethical actions by church officials, who acted as religious authority figures within the LDS Church. The lawsuit claims that Church leadership intervened by writing letters to the sentencing judge, pleading for leniency and praising the convicted man as a great guy.
This push for leniency clearly demonstrated that the church failed to protect children by allowing a former LDS bishop and convicted abuser to return to a position of authority. The LDS Church has faced accusations of enabling sexual abuse by allowing known offenders to return to positions of authority, as highlighted in a lawsuit filed in October 2025 involving a convicted child abuser.
From Excommunication to High Priest: A Timeline of Institutional Negligence
David Herget was initially excommunicated from the LDS Church following his conviction. However, this formal censure clearly didn’t last. His subsequent restoration and elevation within the Church, even while he was still under state supervision as a registered sex offender, highlights a deeply concerning and systematic pattern of institutional negligence.
The abuse allegedly occurred years ago, and in many cases, abuse happened decades ago, but recent legislative reforms in many states have extended or eliminated the statute of limitations for filing sexual abuse claims. This allows survivors to pursue justice even for abuse that occurred decades or years ago.
| Date | Event | Significance |
| 1993 | David Herget is convicted of raping his daughter. He is sentenced to seven years but serves just 180 days after Church members allegedly advocate for his early release. | His history of violent crime is formally known and documented by the Church’s senior leadership. |
| Prior to 2001 | While still under state supervision, Herget begins attending and actively participating in the Mountlake Ward of the Mormon Church. | The Church permitted a known registered sex offender to integrate back into the community without any safeguards. |
| 2001 – 2005 | The lawsuit alleges this is the period when Herget sexually abused the four young boys, using his position and access to groom them. | The abuse occurred while the Church was officially welcoming him back and restoring his authority. |
| 2002 | Herget is officially rebaptized into the LDS Church, restoring his membership. | The Church grants full spiritual membership back to a known predator. |
| 2004 | Herget’s full authority is restored, and he is named a High Priest—a role that placed him in direct, unsupervised contact with children. | The Church actively elevated the predator to a position of power, creating the ideal environment for victimization. |
| October 2025 | Dolman Law Group files the lawsuit against the LDS Church on behalf of the four survivors. | Seeking accountability for the systemic failures that allowed the abuse to occur. |
By 2004, the Church’s actions were complete: they had restored David Herget as a High Priest, a spiritual leadership position akin to a father or elder over underlings, including underage children. It is unbelievable negligence that a role intended to foster trust was deliberately handed to a convicted sex offender.
The legal process for filing a sexual abuse claim against the LDS Church typically involves proving that the abuse happened and that the Church acted negligently by failing to protect victims or report the abuse.
A Chilling Pattern of Grooming and Abuse
The Church’s reinstatement of Herget led directly to the horrific abuse alleged in the lawsuit. Herget allegedly used his restored position and the extraordinary allowances granted to him by local leaders, including youth leaders, to gain unrestricted access to young boys in the Mountlake Ward. The victims in the suit were as young as five years old.
The complaint outlines a horrific pattern of grooming and sexual assault across the four John Does, with key, consistent details that mirror each other:
- Candy Programs: Herget was allowed to print and hand out special church programs with candy taped inside to young boys during Sunday Services, often right in front of the ward’s Bishop and Stake President.
- Unsupervised Access: He regularly invited young boys to come to his home to "work" on tasks, ensuring they were alone with him and without parental supervision.
- Targeted Victimization: One particularly disturbing account describes Herget visiting a sick five-year-old boy at home to deliver the candy he missed. The child, left alone with Herget, was allegedly abused during that visit.
- Pornography and Force: Victims, including John Doe #1 and John Doe #4, say they were lured in with pornographic materials and then forced into sexual acts, establishing the convicted rapist's disturbing modus operandi (MO).
- Location of Abuse: The abuse was not confined to Herget’s home; victims claim it also happened on Church property during the activities children are recruited to attend throughout the week, including those associated with the church's missionary program.
Documents strongly suggest that local leaders, including the ward’s Bishop, the Stake President, and other youth leaders, were aware of Herget’s past and were fully conscious of the unsupervised access he was routinely given to children. Multiple abuse reports were made to church officials, but they failed to act on them.
These leaders had access to church records and key evidence, such as prior complaints and witness statements, that could have prevented further abuse.
Allegations also indicate that the LDS Church has a practice of transferring known abusers to new congregations or leadership positions without warning those communities, allowing continued access to vulnerable victims.
Additionally, the LDS Church's internal 'Help Line' allegedly routes sensitive calls about abuse to the church's legal counsel instead of encouraging local bishops to report abuse directly to law enforcement, which may shield abusers and prevent public accountability.
As a result, survivors have come forward with child sexual abuse claims, seeking justice for the church's institutional failures.
Systemic Failure: The Culture of Silence
The Herget case is not simply an isolated mistake; it points to broader institutional failures within high-control institutions like the LDS Church.
The core problem, as alleged, is that the LDS Church prioritizes internal reporting and secrecy over law enforcement involvement, often invoking the clergy-penitent privilege to avoid reporting abuse. This approach can silence victims and discourage them from seeking help from child protective services, further enabling abuse to persist.
The Church has faced criticism for prioritizing its institutional reputation over the safety of its members, with reports indicating that church leaders often discouraged victims from reporting abuse to authorities and instead handled cases internally.
Children in the LDS Church spend considerable time at the church outside of Sunday services, often helping clean the building, preparing for rituals, or acting as proxies in ceremonies. This environment of perpetual access, combined with a lifetime of indoctrination to trust the Church elders, gives men in power unprecedented, unsupervised access to children.
Dolman Law Group says this was not just a tragic accident, but a consequence of institutional choices. The Church was fully aware of Herget’s history and still placed him in situations where he had free rein with children.
"The LDS Church gave a known predator the keys to the kingdom," said attorney Stan Gipe of Dolman Law Group. "We are committed to holding the Church fully accountable for its purposeful neglect. This was a systemic failure that left these boys with lifelong scars."
Comparison to Other Churches: Patterns and Differences in Handling Abuse
The LDS Church’s handling of sexual abuse allegations has often been compared to that of other major religious institutions, most notably the Catholic Church. Both organizations have faced waves of public outrage and legal action over their responses to childhood sexual abuse claims, but their approaches reveal important differences and troubling similarities.
The Catholic Church has long been criticized for its highly centralized and secretive system of managing abuse allegations. Decisions about how to handle abuse claims often come from the top, with church leaders moving accused priests between parishes and keeping abuse hidden from law enforcement and the public.
This approach has led to widespread cover-ups and a global reckoning over the church’s failure to protect children.
In contrast, the LDS Church operates with a more decentralized structure. Local church leaders, such as bishops and stake presidents, are often the first to receive reports of sexual abuse. This can result in inconsistent handling of abuse claims, as individual leaders may lack proper training or may prioritize the church’s reputation over the safety of children.
Despite these structural differences, both the LDS Church and the Catholic Church have been accused of prioritizing institutional protection over victim safety, allowing abuse to continue unchecked.
Recent years have seen a surge in lawsuits against the LDS Church, with survivors coming forward to report childhood sexual abuse involving former church leaders and incidents that occurred during church events. These abuse allegations have put the church’s policies and practices under intense scrutiny, with critics arguing that the LDS Church has not done enough to prevent future abuse or to support survivors.
The mounting legal pressure reflects a broader demand for accountability and reform across all religious institutions facing similar crises.
The Importance of Transparency in Religious Institutions
Transparency is a cornerstone of trust, especially when it comes to handling sexual abuse within religious organizations. For survivors and their families, knowing that abuse claims will be taken seriously and handled openly is essential for healing and justice.
Unfortunately, the LDS Church has faced persistent criticism for a lack of transparency in its response to abuse allegations.
When abuse claims are shrouded in secrecy, it not only silences victims but also enables abusers to continue harming others. A transparent approach requires clear, accessible policies for reporting abuse, regular communication about the status of investigations, and a willingness to hold church leaders accountable for their actions.
Without these measures, mistrust and further victimization can take root within the congregation.
The LDS Church has made some efforts to improve transparency, such as establishing a "help line" for reporting sexual abuse allegations. However, many advocates and survivors argue that these steps are not enough.
True transparency means more than just a hotline—it requires a cultural shift toward openness, accountability, and survivor-centered support. Only by embracing transparency can the LDS Church and other religious institutions begin to repair the damage caused by decades of institutional secrecy and neglect.
Preventing Future Abuse: Steps Toward Safer Congregations
Preventing future sexual abuse within the LDS Church—and all religious communities—demands a proactive, multi-layered approach. Church leaders must take responsibility for creating safe environments where abuse cannot flourish, and where survivors feel empowered to report abuse claims without fear of retaliation or dismissal.
Key steps include implementing comprehensive training for all church leaders and volunteers on recognizing and responding to abuse allegations. Regular background checks for anyone working with children or youth are essential to prevent known offenders from gaining access to vulnerable members. The church should also establish clear, mandatory reporting procedures that prioritize the safety of children over institutional reputation.
Transparency and accountability must be at the heart of these efforts. By openly addressing abuse allegations and supporting survivors, the LDS Church can begin to rebuild trust and demonstrate its commitment to protecting its members.
Individuals within the church community also play a vital role—by speaking out against abuse, supporting victims, and demanding accountability from church leadership, they help create a culture where abuse is not tolerated.
Ultimately, preventing future abuse is a shared responsibility. By working together, church leaders, members, and survivors can create safer congregations and ensure that the mistakes of the past are never repeated.
Seeking Justice for Survivors of LDS Child Sexual Abuse
Dolman Law Group is seeking financial damages for the four named plaintiffs in the Herget case to compensate them for the profound physical and emotional injuries they sustained, past, present, and future.
This case is part of the broader LDS sexual abuse lawsuit and LDS abuse lawsuit landscape, where adult survivors and sexual abuse victims are now able to file claims and file lawsuits against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
As of April 2026, the Church is resolving sexual abuse claims through a private claims resolution process, avoiding public scrutiny and court proceedings. The church's legal team is actively negotiating confidential settlements, allowing survivors to receive financial compensation through a confidential legal process that protects their privacy and avoids media exposure.
Settlement offers can range from tens of thousands to over $1 million, depending on the specifics of each case, with the average settlement value for sexual abuse lawsuits against the LDS Church estimated between $400,000 and $1.1 million, and serious cases potentially resulting in multimillion-dollar settlements.
The Church has agreed in principle to settle more than 100 sexual abuse lawsuits filed in California, with individual payouts varying based on the severity of the abuse and the strength of the claims. In April 2025, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation denied a request to consolidate over 40 lawsuits against the LDS Church, allowing each case to remain localized and focused on individual survivor stories.
Nearly 100 lawsuits were filed against the LDS Church in California in April 2025, alleging decades of sexual abuse and systemic cover-up, with all cases consolidated into a Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding.
In 2026, rumors of a global LDS Church lawsuit settlement are circulating as lawyers continue to seek compensation for victims of sex abuse lawsuits within the Church.
If you or a loved one were sexually abused by a Church leader, clergy member, volunteer, or employee within the LDS Church, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit or file claims against the institution itself. We encourage you to seek a confidential consultation to discuss your legal options and protect your rights.
What Damages Can Survivors Pursue?
Through a successful civil lawsuit, survivors pursuing child sexual abuse claims can recover significant financial damages intended to address the full scope of their injuries.
Survivors seeking justice can pursue compensation even if the abuse occurred years or decades ago, thanks to recent legislative changes expanding legal opportunities. These damages typically include compensation for:
- Physical and Emotional Injuries: Pain and suffering, emotional distress, anxiety, depression, and long-term psychological damage.
- Economic Losses: Costs related to past, present, and future medical and mental health treatment (therapy, counseling, medication).
- Loss of Life Enjoyment: Compensation for the permanent damage done to a survivor’s ability to live a full and meaningful life.
Why Choose Dolman Law Group?
Dolman Law Group is known for its dedication to fighting for survivors of sexual assault who were violated by members of the Mormon Church or any church.
Our firm and our experienced sexual abuse lawyers are committed to holding the LDS Church accountable for its negligence and pushing for systemic changes that are incredibly needed to protect children from future harm.
We have held other major church organizations and youth organizations accountable for their role in the sexual abuse of minors, including dozens of catholic dioceses, the Boy Scouts of America, the United Methodist Church, doctors and hospitals, OBGYNs, foster care systems, juvenile detention centers, and we are currently leading on one of the biggest lawsuits in the country against Roblox for failing to protect children from grooming, sexual abuse, and real-world sexual assaults.
When pursuing a case against a powerful, high-control institution like the LDS Church, you need a legal team with the resources, experience, and tenacity to handle complex institutional abuse litigation. Our focus is on ensuring accountability not just from the abuser, but from the institution that created the conditions for the abuse to thrive.
If you have a similar story, our firm continues to investigate the possibility of additional victims and stands ready to help you seek the justice and compensation you deserve.