A civil suit has been initiated in King County Superior Court accusing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of shielding a Seattle-based high priest from accountability while he sexually abused multiple young girls throughout the 1980s.

The complaint, brought by two women using the pseudonyms Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2, names the church and several of its affiliated legal entities as defendants. It outlines how Francis DeFord Cochran, serving as a high priest in the 6th Ward of the Seattle Stake, leveraged his ecclesiastical standing to build trust with families and gain unsupervised access to children.

Church leaders allegedly overlooked repeated warning signs over several years. Records indicate that in the early to mid-1980s, Cochran regularly seated young girls on his lap during Primary meetings and in the nursery—often in full view of other adult volunteers and leaders. He reportedly invited girls to his residence under the pretense of viewing his pet rabbits or rock collection, sometimes presenting them with items like jewelry boxes or plush toys.

One instance detailed in the complaint involves Jane Doe #2, who in approximately 1983 was taken to Cochran’s home, where he removed her undergarments in the bathroom and applied topical cream to her genital area.

Church leadership reportedly became aware of the risks posed by Cochran well before formal complaints surfaced. Around 1984 or 1985, Jane Doe #2’s grandfather, who held a position on the Bishopric, alerted her father that Cochran posed a significant threat to children and recommended she no longer be placed alone with him.

When Jane Doe #1 disclosed to her mother in 1987 that Cochran had abused her in the nursery, the mother followed up with both local authorities and the 6th Ward Bishop, identified as Bishop Hoffman. During a joint meeting with the bishop, Cochran, and his spouse, Hoffman reportedly resisted launching an inquiry and expressed dissatisfaction when informed the mother intended to contact law enforcement.

As the mother began alerting other families in the ward, Bishop Hoffman reportedly contacted her and warned that her temple recommend—the credential permitting participation in sacred temple ordinances—could be withheld if she continued raising concerns publicly.

The matter progressed to Stake President Paul Diehl, who convened with the involved families and directed Bishop Hoffman to publicly announce Cochran’s excommunication during a sacrament meeting.

Cochran’s pattern of misconduct led to multiple criminal charges. In 1986, a neighbor witnessed him in a bedroom with his naked granddaughter, his lower body exposed; he later entered guilty pleas to two counts of first-degree statutory rape in 1987. Even after these convictions—and consistent with earlier internal concerns—he remained active in church programs and was permitted to drive groups of refugee children to church functions.

In 1988, he again pleaded guilty, this time to two counts of indecent liberties, stemming from abuse that occurred on church-owned property.

The plaintiffs assert that the church’s conduct constituted negligence and emotional distress so severe it rose to the level of outrage. Their legal action seeks damages for the psychological and emotional harm sustained over time due to what they describe as deliberate institutional inaction and mismanagement.

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