Skip to content
Photo credit: Children’s Justice Center in Farmington, Davis County, Utah via Wikipedia.
Nearly 35 years after they were abused by members of a polygamist cult, survivors Dawn Winter and Andrea Lithgow stood before a crowd in Ogden, Utah, as living proof of the life-changing role that Children’s Justice Centers (CJCs) can play in a survivor’s recovery. Speaking during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Weber-Morgan Children’s Justice Center, the two women expressed gratitude for being among the first to receive services at Utah’s original CJC, which opened just before the 1991 raid on the Zion Society Cult, Deseret News reported Friday.
“A week after I turned 10, I became one of the first children to walk into the Children’s Justice Center,” Winter said. “I was stubborn and terrified. What I didn’t realize was that I’d just been saved, saved in a manner not possible just months earlier.”
The new Weber-Morgan CJC is a state-of-the-art facility designed with input from child survivors themselves, including windows that bring in natural light to counter the darkness many abused children carry with them. Outgoing center director Rod Layton described the building as a product of coalition efforts across the community. One major supporter: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which donated $350,000 to the project.
“We’re a partner to the cause,” said Elder Kevin W. Pearson, Utah Area President of the church. “The church has every intention of being front and center, shoulder to shoulder in this until we can eradicate the problem.”
Church leaders including Sister Amy A. Wright and President Emily Belle Freeman joined Utah Attorney General Derek Brown and other officials in highlighting the importance of CJCs as a hub for healing. The Weber-Morgan CJC now houses three forensic interview rooms, where trained specialists help children tell their stories in safe, supportive environments.
Brown emphasized that CJCs represent a shift from merely investigating crimes to truly putting children first. “While we’re collecting the information we need from a law enforcement standpoint, we can recognize the real focus is on helping these children heal and live normal lives.”
Utah’s 25 CJCs served more than 20,000 children in 2024 alone. Most cases are resolved before ever reaching a courtroom thanks to forensic interviews, which can be used in preliminary hearings under a 1994 amendment to the Utah Constitution. These interviews are shared among law enforcement, health professionals, social workers, and child protective services to coordinate care and response.
Lithgow, who was 16 when she entered the CJC, said the new building and what it represents offer more than just shelter. “You built more than walls. You built a safe haven of trust… where voices are honored, where their healing can begin, and where the possibility of wholeness is kept alive.”
Elder Pearson connected the church’s involvement directly to its mission. “Christ loved and cared for children. Would this not be an essential interest of his? It is. I know it is. He would want his church to be deeply involved in it, and we are.”
If you’re a survivor of sexual abuse by an LDS bishop, official or church-sponsored program, find out what your legal rights are in our Mormon Church Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Guide.
