For 26 years (1963-89), LDS-BSA top execs knew of “perversion files,” but allegedly did not tell LDS church

Part of a series on lawsuits alleging sexual abuse coverups by Mormon officials.

Floodlit.org has learned that from 1963 to 1989 (26 straight years), five Mormon men who knew of the Boy Scout perversion files held the paid position of top liaison between BSA and LDS church.

If an LDS official’s 2012 statement is true, none of them informed the church.

Could the church have done more?

Last week, we (Floodlit.org) reported our findings regarding two statements in a 2012 declaration under penalty of perjury by Paul Rytting, the LDS church’s risk management director, during a lawsuit against the church regarding sexual abuse by a Boy Scout leader:

• Findings re: Mormon official’s declaration on church knowledge of sexual abuse
• Uncovering the Mormon Church’s Knowledge of Child Sexual Abuse: The 1984 Lawsuit

In this article, we’ll look at a third statement Rytting made:

“In the context of other litigation, the Church has tried to ascertain when the Church first became aware that BSA maintained ineligible volunteer files. While no exact date could be ascertained, it appears the Church first became aware of these files in the context of litigation filed sometime after 1989. There is no information that suggests Church leaders were aware of these files in or before 1972.”

Floodlit investigated Rytting’s claim.

We discovered three lawsuits filed in 1987 against the Mormon church regarding sexual abuse by Timur Dykes.

We found 21 Mormon men who were paid Boy Scout employees that became aware of the BSA’s “perversion files” before 1989, raising questions about the accuracy of Rytting’s statement.

In addition, several of those men went on to hold the highest paid position in the Boy Scouts which acted as a direct liasion between BSA and the Mormon church. See the list below. In all, that position was occupied by those men from 1963-1989.

In other words, for at least 26 years, top scout executives who were Mormons themselves worked closely with the LDS church’s General Young Men’s Presidency and General Primary Presidency, and met occasionally with Mormon apostles, yet never made them aware of internal BSA records that could have helped Mormon officials protect children from sexual predators, if Rytting’s statement is accurate.

The list below shows the name of each scout executive we found (these are all Mormon men) and the earliest year of which he corresponded with BSA national leadership regarding allegations that a scout leader had perpetrated sexual abuse.

In some instances, these scout executives initiated contact with the BSA’s headquarters to notify them about alleged perpetrators and request that they be added to the perversion files. In other instances, the main office reached out to them to gather information or to notify them about an alleged abuser that the BSA had added to their perversion files.

Some of the men below knew about Mormon scout leaders who had molested children, and at least one non-Mormon scout leader who abused children in an LDS scout troop. One man listed below (John Fanning) was eventually exposed and convicted for child molestation. He was a bishop and branch president at some point. Floodlit is working on his timeline.

Year they knew (that we have documentation of) – name:

1. 1960 – Grant Robinson
2. 1960 – Ross J. Taylor
3. 1963 – Folkman Brown
4. 1965 – Darl S. Gleed
5. 1965 – Don C. Kimball
6. 1966 – Paul Y. Dunn
7. 1968 – Robert M. Mills
8. 1971 – R. Lynn Mortensen
9. 1972 – Edwin Bingham
10. 1974 – John D. Warnick
11. 1975 – Elden J. Peterson
12. 1975 – Joseph S. Barney
13. 1979 – Boyd Ivie
14. 1979 – John W. Fanning
15. 1979 – Lynn M. Austin
16. 1979 – Vern Dunn
17. 1980 – Rex J. Black
18. 1981 – Roy B. Arnold
19. 1986 – K. Hart Bullock
20. 1987 – Neil A. Butterfield
21. 1988 – Lawry Hunsaker

We are still investigating and may find more. Stay tuned.

Of the men listed above, a few stand out in particular:

• John W. Fanning – convicted child molester, former Mormon bishop and branch president – We are still looking into the timing of Fanning’s Mormon leadership positions to see if they coincided with the years in which he abused children. Fanning’s abuse was known to two of the men listed above, Hart Bullock and Boyd Ivie, prior to 1989.
• Folkman Brown – became the BSA’s Director of Mormon Relationships in 1963 (source).
• Ross J. Taylor – replaced Folkman in 1974 (source).
• John D. Warnick – replaced Taylor in 1977 (source).
• Robert M. Mills – replaced Warnick in 1988 (source).
• K. Hart Bullock – replaced Mills in 1992 (source).
• Boyd R. Ivie – became an area director for the BSA over Area 2, which included the Salt Lake City, Utah region (source).

Also of note, but not listed above: Charles Dahlquist, Kirton McConkie attorney specializing in risk management, was the 20th Young Men General President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 2004 to 2009, and was the 10th National Commissioner of the Boy Scouts of America from 2016 to 2018:

• https://www.kirtonmcconkie.com/professionals-Charles-Dahlquist
• https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=5280070&itype=CMSID

The paid BSA position of Mormon/LDS relationships director meant meeting at least annually with several top Mormon church officials, including Young Men’s General Presidency members, Primary General Presidency members, and sometimes apostles. We’ve found written correspondence between these directors and multiple LDS leaders in such positions from the 1950s to the 1970s.

The relationship between the BSA and the Mormon church was extremely close for decades. The church officially ended its partnership with the BSA at the end of 2019.

In 1989 and 1993 at General Conference Priesthood sessions, the current President of the Mormon church received the Bronze Wolf award, the highest award in international scouting.

• https://www.deseret.com/1989/4/2/18801096/pres-benson-receives-scouting-s-top-award/
• https://www.thechurchnews.com/1993/10/9/23257871/president-monson-is-honored-for-his-contributions-to-scouting/

In 1989, when Ezra Taft Benson received the award, Robert M. Mills, who was then the director of Mormon relationships for the BSA, was present, as were K. Hart Bullock and Boyd Ivie. All three are listed above and were aware prior to 1989 of the perversion files.

Three years earlier, Bullock and Ivie had confronted Fanning in Bullock’s BSA office with allegations of child sexual abuse. Fanning admitted to some abuse and agreed to resign so he could continue to get paid for another month, with Bullock’s and Ivie’s approval.

excerpt from former Mormon bishop John Wood Fanning’s “perversion file”

In 1993, Thomas S. Monson received the award in front of men and boys at the priesthood session. Top BSA executives presented the award.

Given what we’ve uncovered so far, Rytting’s declaration seems somewhat problematic.

When did the Mormon church actually become aware that child sexual abuse was sometimes being perpetrated by people in positions of trust within its ranks? Floodlit continues to investigate.

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