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Martinsburg Testimony Meeting Protest - Explained

A video from an LDS sacrament meeting in Martinsburg, West Virginia is once again making the rounds on social media. The footage shows two mothers interrupting a testimony meeting to warn fellow members that, in their view, local Church leaders had failed to protect children from a convicted child molester within their own congregation.


This event came after years of criminal proceedings, civil litigation, and allegations that Church leaders ignored warning signs while children continued to be abused.


The case centered on Christopher Michael Jensen, who was sentenced in 2013 to 35 to 75 years in prison for sexually abusing two children, ages three and four. Court records also show that allegations against Jensen stretched back to 2004, when, at just 13 years old, he was arrested and charged with two felony counts involving the sexual abuse of two girls at his middle school.


According to the civil lawsuit, members of the Martinsburg LDS congregation, including individuals in leadership positions, were informed of abuse allegations on multiple occasions but either failed to act, failed to report them, or kept the allegations confidential. Plaintiffs argued this pattern allowed Jensen continued access to children for years.


The Church denied those allegations, arguing that Jensen repeatedly deceived Church leaders and concealed his crimes. Jensen was excommunicated in 2013 after his criminal conviction.


Before the confrontation shown in the viral video, the Church reached a confidential settlement in a civil lawsuit brought on behalf of several of Jensen's victims. The settlement resolved the legal case but did little to convince some victims' families that Church leaders had been held accountable.


That frustration reached a breaking point on May 5, 2019.

A full video of the sacrament meeting interruption was shared  on YouTube by @newnamenoah on May 11, 2019


During the congregation's testimony meeting, two mothers whose children had been abused by Jensen stood and warned fellow members that they believed Church leaders had protected a known pedophile and that parents deserved to know what had happened. Rather than allowing the women to finish, many members of the congregation began loudly singing hymns to drown out their voices.


__________

Sources:

Justia: Jane Doe-1 v. Corp. of President of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

ABC NEWS: Families speak out against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over sex abuse allegations

West Viringie Public Broadcasting: Settlement Reached in Suit Alleging Mormons Overlooked Abuse

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