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SALT LAKE CITY — The LDS Church argued in federal court documents Tuesday that the Navajo Nation court lacks jurisdiction over the church in a lawsuit alleging two Navajo children were sexually abused in a now-defunct foster placement program.
The decisions regarding placement of tribal members with host families were made outside of the reservation and the alleged abused didn't take place on the reservation, according to a filing in U.S. District Court.
"Tribal courts have no jurisdiction over conduct that does not occur on the tribe’s reservation," wrote lawyers for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Two Navajo siblings sued the Mormon church in March, alleging they were sexually abused during their time with foster families in Utah in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The lawsuit seeks written apologies, unspecified damages, changes in church policy to ensure that sexual abuse is reported first to authorities and the creation of a task force to address any cultural or social harm to Navajos in the Indian Student Placement Program.
Tribal courts have no jurisdiction over conduct that does not occur on the tribe’s reservation.
–Lawyers for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Tribal members who wished to participate in the program did so voluntarily with the agreement of their families, according to the church. LDS Social Services, now called LDS Family Services, had an office in Cedar City with regional responsibility for the program, including working with members of the Navajo Nation.
