Seven lawsuits were filed Monday in Arizona against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for allegedly covering up sexual abuse in church-sponsored Boy Scouts of America (BSA) troops.

The allegations span more than 30 years, ranging from 1972 to 2009. The lawsuits claim that church officials were told about instances of abuse but did not report them to law enforcement. Instead, they told victims that the church would look into the allegations itself while the accused troop leaders and volunteers were allowed to stay in their positions. 

The LDS Church ended its relationship with the BSA a few years ago, after almost a century of collaboration. It disagreed with the BSA’s new policy that permitted girls and transgender children to join the organization. 

The suits come as the state’s extended deadline to file child sexual abuse cases draws near. In 2019, the state legislature passed a law allowing the victims who failed to report abuse until they turned 30 to sue the perpetrators. Previous laws forced victims to forfeit claims that were not filed by the time they turned 20. 

The new law gave abuse survivors whose claims had expired under the old deadline a grace period through the end of 2020, but they had to meet a higher standard. People filing expired claims during this window had to meet the “clear and convincing evidence” standard, a level up from the usual “preponderance of the evidence” standard. In cases involving organizational cover-ups, it must be proven that officials did not just know about the abuse but actively did nothing to stop it or worked to sweep it under the rug. However, punitive damages are not an available remedy in such older cases.