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SALT LAKE CITY — A woman who accused a former leader of the LDS Church Missionary Training Center of sexual assault has filed a lawsuit against him and the church.
McKenna Denson filed the lawsuit late Wednesday and has scheduled a news conference for 11 a.m. today. The lawsuit names former Provo MTC President Joseph Bishop and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as defendants.
In the suit, Denson accuses Bishop of targeting her and grooming her for a sexual attack while she was a missionary in the 1980s. It also accuses Bishop of improper behavior toward women during his time as Weber State University’s president in the ’70s.
In a statement, the LDS Church says it has “great faith in the judicial system to determine the truth of these claims. Nevertheless, the church takes seriously its responsibility to hold its members accountable for their conduct with respect of the laws of God and man.”