Woman Sues Her Ex and the Mormon Church

In 1992, another daughter told Doe that her grandfather, Mohler Sr., made her watch a movie about prostitution and tried to French kiss her, the complaint states. At the time, Doe says, Mohler Sr. was a pastor of the Bates City RLDS Church.

After that, Doe says, the church removed her from her calling as Young Women's President in the Independence Third Ward. Doe's supporters were also shamed, the complaint states.

Doe says she separated from Ed in 1997. She says she talked with Bishop Robert Bischoff because according to the Mormon faith if a wife leaves her husband, she may forever be separated from her eternal family.

"Plaintiff told him of the sexual abuse, he did not believe plaintiff," the complaint states. "He asked plaintiff to write down the testimonies of her children, which she did. Despite the testimonies of the children, no immediate action was taken by the Church. In approximately the fall of 1997 President Gordon Goodman held a church court. In that proceeding, plaintiff and her family were treated with disrespect and disbelief. Instead of reporting these incidents as required by Missouri law or supervising their clergy, President Goodman emphatically called for forgiveness, effectively silencing these victims."

Grant Bench became bishop of the Odessa Ward in 1998. Doe claims that Bench interviewed her children without her knowledge "and asked them if plaintiff was following the Word of Wisdom, asked about whom she was dating and asked if she was wearing her temple garments, or underwear, which she had been given at the temple."

Doe claims those interviews "followed a pattern of humiliating and undermining plaintiff's position with her family, children and church as a result of the complaints she made and her leaving Ed Mohler."

Bench held a hearing at Ed Mohler's request, according to the complaint.

"As part of that 'trial,' which is not sanctioned by the LDS Church, Bishop Bench had Ed Mohler appear and describe their sex life as a married couple during the trial," the complaint states. "Plaintiff was also grilled about the allegations she made against Ed and was made out to be a liar. This trial had no ecclesiastical basis or setting and was done solely to humiliate plaintiff and prevent her from understanding that she had been the victim of tortious activity."

Doe claims that in 2008 she found out that the abuse of her children was worse than she feared.

"Plaintiff learned for the first time that Defendants Burrell and Ed Mohler, as well as David Mohler, Jared Mohler, and Roland Mohler had savagely beaten her children on numerous occasions, terrorized them, used their positions of trust as both elevated ministers and pastors of the Churches to silence them, and engaged in horrific and repeated sexual abuse of them including rape, sodomy, oral sex, sado-masochistic behavior, requiring the children to watch the humiliation, degradation and physical and sexual abuse of their siblings," the complaint states. "Burrell Mohler [Sr.] also used his position of trust as a Pastor and Minister to condone his act of performing marriage ceremonies for his young granddaughters to himself and his sons in order to gain the compliance of these children who had been taught from an early age that sexual contact should be reserved only for marriage."

After the state filed charges against the Mohlers in 2009, Doe claims, the church kept the Mohlers in positions of trust, and promoted Mohler Sr.'s wife, Sandra, to pastor.

"This occurred despite the fact that Sandra Mohler had purposefully hidden pornography that included incest pornography from law enforcement," the complaint states.

"Additionally, the Lamoni, (Iowa) congregation allowed David Mohler to have access to children despite a consent agreement with law enforcement that he would not be in the presence of children under the age of 17 during the pendency of the cases against him. The Lamoni Congregation set up a special service for David Mohler to which anyone who chose to attend with their children would be welcome," the complaint states.

Doe claim the church tried to cover up its actions through false statements, falsely claiming the Mohler men had no access to children and that had Tonga reported her complaints to his superiors, that they would have told him to go to law enforcement.

"For approximately a year and a half, the RLDS/COC Church also knowingly assisted David Mohler in breaking his bond agreement," the complaint states.

"At all times, the Churches used their position of trust and confidence to prevent plaintiff and her children from taking action against the Mohlers or the Church for its choice in refusing to report or otherwise protect the plaintiff or her children."

Doe seeks punitive damages for intentional failure to supervise clergy, breach of fiduciary duty/confidential relationship, fraud, negligent infliction of emotional distress, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy.

Doe's husband seeks damages for loss of consortium.

They are represented by Rebecca M. Randles of Randles, Mata & Brown.

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