Two sisters filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing a Mormon high priest of repeatedly sexually abusing them from the early 1970s until the early 1980s.
Sheryl Siatunuu-Larrison and Patricia Nebergall claim that Manuel Ulibarri sexually molested them in their home, his truck, a farm and in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel at 3722 N.E. Going St. in Portland.
Both sisters say their parents eventually reported the abuse to the ward bishop, who told them not to report it to the police while church officials investigated.
"That was the last we ever heard of it," said Nebergall.
David Ernst, a Portland attorney who represents the church, said Ulibarri was not a church clergy member and that "high priest" is a title given to virtually any Mormon man older than 40.
Ernst denied that church officials were told of any abuse allegations until the mid-1990s, when they put a note in Ulibarri's file that he not be given any assignments that put him in contact with children.
"This church unequivocally condemns (child abuse)," said Ernst, of the firm Bullivant Houser Bailey. "And if he did it, we are saddened to learn of the allegations that these girls were abused a quarter-century ago."
The suit, filed in Multnomah County circuit court against both Ulibarri and the LDS church, seeks more than $10 million.
According to the sisters, their family joined the Mormon church in 1973 and Ulibarri was assigned to be the family's home teacher. He started abusing them almost immediately, they said.
"The time that I remember him was the first time he ever touched me and I was 3," said Siatunuu-Larrison.
Nebergall said she was 10 when he started abusing her.
Neither was aware that the other was being abused nor that Ulibarri was molesting other children in the family, said Michael Morey, the Lake Oswego-based attorney who represents Nebergall.
In 1977, another sister reported being abused to Bishop Guy Piersall, who responded by telling her she was dressing inappropriately, Morey said.
Four years later, Nebergall, who was 18, told her parents what had been happening.
About the same time, Siatunuu-Larrison, who was about 11, told her grandmother, who told her parents, according to Dayna Christian, Siatunuu-Larrison's Portland-based attorney.
The parents arranged a meeting with Bishop Gary Larsen, who talked to the children, Siatunuu-Larrison said.
"He asked us questions about what had happened. He acted like we were lying. He (told) us not to say anything," Siatunuu-Larrison said.
Ulibarri molested her for another two years, she said.
Morey said that the parents continued to report Ulibarri's behavior to LDS bishops over the years, as recently as 2000.
Stephen English, another Bullivant Houser Bailey attorney representing the church, said his client abhorred child abuse, but said it could not be held responsible for abuse committed by one member against another.
"This appears to be a blatant attempt to ride the coattails of the recent (Catholic) clergy abuse situation," English said.