As you know, we support any survivor going after their perpetrators in a “class action” lawsuit. You deserve to be compensated for your abuse. The perpetrators took something from you that they had no right to take. The real God/Jesus of the universe loves you and would never tell you that you need to perform a sexual act in order to please him or go to heaven. These phrases are only used by evil men in your church to scare you into compliance. God/Jesus would never hurt you. The evil men who dressed up as Jesus and raped you did this to get their own selfish gratification. These impostors didn’t have the holes in their hands or feet like Jesus has. Satan is wicked and he is a deceiver. You’ve been lied to.
We here at Relentless Hope want you to know that you can file a lawsuit against the church or organization that abused you. And we want to explain how to do this. You can speak about your abuse to a lawyer without consequences. These lawyers are bound by confidentiality. The problem is that many survivors have recorder/reporter parts that may tell their abusers what they did. You need to silence those recorder/reporter parts and dismantle them completely. They serve you no benefit by keeping them around. To do this you need to deprogram. This may sound scary but you can do this in a number of ways:
- Go through deliverance prayer with a safe person. We have wonderful people we work with who do this. With compassion, our prayer warriors will walk you through this process. And it is a process. It’s not one and done. Deliverance prayer may take several iterations to get fully free.
- You can work with your counselor to heal your child parts and integrate. Counselors with DID experience can help you do this. There are also other modalities which can help you heal. EMDR and neurofeedback are two that really work. Prayer is a big part of your healing as well. We recommend Christian counselors (real, bible believing Christians, not new age Christians (Christ conscious)).
- You must break off communication with your abusers. This is critical. You will automatically start to deprogram the further away you get from them. If that means moving out of state, do it. We can help with that transition.
- Journal your memories. This is so important for healing and it’s a court admissible document that lawyers can use. It’s so helpful to have a dated, detail document of your abuse. It serves as a victim statement.
- Go through training classes for dealing with DID. We have classes listed by our partners on our website home page.
- Remember that you are a valuable, loved person and you can do this. We believe in you.
If you have seen all the ads on Facebook and other social media, please use caution. Some of these law firms are trying to make money off of your misfortune. Some things you want to look for:
- Check the law firm with the state bar association or use the website, justia.com for reviews.
- Ask them if they require you to sign a NDA (non-disclosure agreement) before you can receive a pay out. Do not sign a NDA! This essentially puts a gag order on you and you will not be able to talk about your story within the context of identifying your perpetrators.
- Ask how many lawsuits they have settled (ask for the $ amount). Anything less than $2 billion is lame.
- Ask if they operate on concession. Do not pay any law firm that is working on a “class action lawsuit.” They shouldn’t get paid unless you win. If you are seeking a personal injury lawyer, the same should apply.
- Ask for references. You do want a reputable law firm.
- Ask if your identity can be hidden. You should be identified only as “Jane Doe” or “John Doe” or given a number (ie Client #4205), You will most likely not be asked to stand before a jury or perpetrator to testify.
- You should expect a payout of at least $500,000 but you should ask. A million or more is appropriate but this will be determined by your injuries and how much you can articulate your story. The more detailed your story, the better the outcome. No lawyer can guarantee you a certain amount. This is up to a judge but every lawyer should be able to give you an estimate based on case history and the wealth of the accused organization.
- Ask if the law firm is suing your particular organization. There are law suits against the Catholic, Baptist and LDS Church right now. But also ask if the law firm is suing the Freemasons as many of you have been abused in Mason Temples too. Consider lawsuits against schools and hospitals as this is another common defendant.
Tips for survivors:
We have discovered that many survivors get scared on the calls with intake specialists. For this reason you should call the lawyer’s hotline only when you have written out your abuse story with dates, locations, who were involved, and what happened to you. Please include details as much as you can remember. Have this document with you when you call so you don’t forget. Pray before you get on the call. You need all the help you can get.
Also, you will more likely be accepted as a plaintiff if you have other documents in hand such as:
- Police reports
- Medical records
- Counseling notes
- DCFS records
- and other supporting documentation
Survivors regularly come on these calls with nothing. That isn’t going to help your case.
Costs
Lawyers who offer these free, no obligation lawsuits are putting a lot of time and effort and money to go after your perpetrators. Please have your ducks in a row by having records and notes available. If you can’t write it yourself, ask a family member or friend to type it up for you while you dictate. You can do this. Take breaks and take your time. These lawyers get paid when you get paid.
What to Tell Your Lawyer
The more details of your abuse you offer, the better your case will be.
You must be honest with the lawyer even tell them of things you are not proud of. If you were a perpetrator yourself, you need to admit to that. We know that you were forced to do things you you didn’t want to do. We also know that you were probably dissociated and a part committed the crime of which you do not remember. Tell them anyway. Here is the reason why. The opposing lawyers are going to find out anyway and you need to be ready for their scrutiny. The defending lawyers (abuser’s defense) will fight dirty. Don’t be surprised what is brought up in court or in the discovery phase. The more you lawyer knows, the better prepared he/she will be.
DO, let the lawyer know how you suffered. Tell them about injuries, tell them about loss in income, medical expenses and the thousands of dollars you spent on counseling. Tell them how this abuse has affected your life — the broken relationships, the harassment, lack of employment, lack of functioning skills, etc. Have you lost custody of your children? Tell them that.
Statutes of Limitations
Recently the state of Utah has reversed their “look back window”. This allowed survivors of trafficking and SRA in Utah to go after their perps, civilly and criminally, for up to 35 years after the age of 18. This was such a good win for survivors when it initially came out. But apparently too many perps were being prosecuted and our politicians and special interest groups had to put a lid on that. Now in the state of Utah, the current statute of limitations is 4 years after the age of 18. That’s it. Survivors, you can’t afford to wait to report. You have a time clock on your abuse. Please, please report your abuse to police even if they don’t do anything about it. Please report to DCFS even if they don’t do anything about the abuse. It may takes years, but some day your case may be prosecutable.
In other states, the statutes of limitations are longer. Also some states have the “look back window.” Why is this important? Because as a survivor, you were more than likely trafficked across state lines which means your case can be tried at the federal level. That means your case can be tried in another state that has more favorable statutes. Don’t give up. Utah is the most corrupt state in our opinion, so you may not get justice here, but you sure as heck can try somewhere else. We are aware that there are dirty judges and lawyers in Utah that drop cases. The conviction rate is only 3% for sexual assault (rape). This is embarrassing. Shame on Utah. Maybe we should withhold our taxes and tell our politicians that they better start doing a better job.
What These Law Firms Don’t Do
These law firms work for free because they are expecting a big payout, just like you. They work on these cases against organizations. They will not take on your personal lawsuit against a family member/boyfriend/etc. who has abused you because individuals don’t have financial means for the most part. There would be no reward for the lawyers suing a person who has no home, bank accounts or anything of substantial means to compensate the lawyers and court fees. Therefore, you must name a perpetrating organization whether that is a church, school, business, etc. If you were abused by an employee or leader representing these organizations or if you were abused on the property of these organizations, you have a claim. Those who were strictly abused at home or family property do not apply unless a member of the organization participated in the abuse at those locations. If your bishop or pastor came to your house and raped you, you do have a case. If your boss raped you at work or at a hotel, you do have a case. If your visiting teacher or counselor molested your kids, you do have a case. But if uncle Charles raped you, that is something you have to take up with another lawyer mostly like at your expense.
Bottom Line
You deserve reparations. You deserve money to pay for counseling, therapy, medical expenses, and safe housing for you and your children. You have an obligation to report your abuse to help others. You can report anonymously. Relentless Hope has identified two qualified and reputable law firms who are taking calls now to be a part of their law suit against churches. The two law firms are Andrews & Thornton and Slater & Slater (one our website homepage).
If you have any questions, please contact us and we’ll do our best to find you an answer. I am not a lawyer so please seek legal counsel. We suggest you use the Timpanogos Legal Clinic in Utah for answers. They have a free zoom meeting on Tuesdays. For those in other states, you can seek answers from the state’s Legal Aid or Bar Association. And one last thing, refer to your abuse as “child trafficking” or “sexual abuse”. The word “ritual abuse” and “SRA” scares lawyers away. Most them will figure it out once you open up about what happened to you.