Author(s): Lisa Davis

Pre-Loved Books | True Crime | Biography, Memoir

The true story of one of the most monstrous sexual criminals in the history of the Mormon Church, and how he was brought to justice despite great opposition from the Church itself. * The Sins of Brother Curtis tells three stories: How Frank Curtis, a Mormon Church elder, abused at least twenty boys in the 1970s and 80s; how his story was unearthed, piece by piece, year by year, by a team of dedicated lawyers and their investigators working with some of his victims and their families; and last, how the Mormon Church vigorously defended itself against the charges that it had repeatedly protected Curtis and even knowingly placed him in proximity to his victims. * The Mormon Church is fascinating and often controversial, whether it comes to polygamy, their insular, even cult-like practices, their obsession with genealogy, their proselytizing ethos or their strange, symbol-sewn undergarments. * What appears at first to be a simple yet horrific case of sexual abuse becomes a struggle over the meaning and intention of the First Amendment, which guarantees the separation of church and state. * Lisa Davis has spent years putting this story together. It's complex, multi-layered, and emotionally powerful. She has had access to plaintiff's attorneys, investigators, and some of the victims, and has built a remarkable narrative. Readers have a full and memorable experience. When Seattle attorney Tim Kosnoff took on eighteen year old Jeremiah Scott's case against the Mormon Church, he had no idea what he was getting in to. What began as a relatively simple effort to seek reparations for Jeremiah, who claimed he had repeatedly been molested by his Sunday School teacher as a boy, turned in to a complicated web of dozens of cases of abuse across several states. Eventually joined by an entire team of attorneys and investigators, Kosnoff found himself up against one of the most controversial and insular institutions-religious or otherwise-in the United States in a case that continued to grow piece by piece, year by year. With top notch investigative reporting and writing from journalist Lisa Davis, who spent years constructing the case's narrative, The Sins of Brother Curtis uncovers the shocking story of one man, protected by the Mormon Church, even as he victimized its own membership.