EVERETT — A lawsuit filed against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints alleges that the church permitted a convicted sexual offender to have access to children, resulting in the sexual assault of four boys, one as young as age 5, in Mountlake Terrace.

The complaint, filed Monday in King County Superior Court, claimed the church allowed David Herget to attend church services and actively participate in the Mountlake Ward after his 1993 conviction, according to a press release. A ward is a geographically defined designation of members presided over by a bishop.

In 1993, Herget was a high priest in the ward when he was convicted of sexually assaulting his 13-year-old daughter, the release said. The complaint alleges church members advocated for Herget’s early release and wrote le

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