Full list:
https://floodlit.org/failure-to-report/
Floodlit.org, a non-profit reporting on sexual abuse in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon/LDS), has now surpassed 400 documented instances where bishops or branch/mission/stake presidents allegedly sexually abused children or failed to report child sexual abuse to law enforcement.
A Crisis Uncovered
This is *not* a comprehensive list of Mormon sexual predators. It’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s what two researchers have found and been able to document *so far* since we started this project in late 2022. Every day, on average, we find (or people tell us about) several more credibly accused individuals.
Our database lists over 4,300 individuals who allegedly perpetrated sex crimes while active in the Mormon church.
Every case report contains source information from public records, news articles, court documents, police statements and/or survivor accounts.
We’ve added over 400 of those cases to our “failure to report” list:
https://floodlit.org/failure-to-report/
In each “failure to report” case, one or more children allegedly suffered sexual abuse, and the alleged perpetrator was a Mormon bishop, branch president, mission president or stake president, or a church official in one of those positions allegedly failed to report the abuse to civil authorities.
An Incomplete Picture
What about the other 3,900+ cases?
In 2,854 of the remaining cases, the alleged abusers were Boy Scout leaders, but available BSA bankruptcy court documents do not contain their names or LDS church positions.
In hundreds of the other 1,050-ish cases, we’re still gathering information to be able to determine whether to flag the case as a “failure to report” case.
We’re working every day to gather and verify case information. Unfortunately, these numbers will continue to grow, with no end in sight.
Again, we have extremely limited resources. The real numbers are probably much higher.
We’ve received over 2,000 reports from abuse survivors or their immediate family members. Most have said Mormon bishops knew about the abuse. Almost no one has said a bishop told police.
Church Claims vs. Reality
At a FAIR conference in Lehi, Utah on Aug. 7, attorney Randy Austin – a Kirton McConkie shareholder who has handled hundreds of abuse cases for the Mormon church – said its clergy help line works to ensure “a child’s safety always comes first” and that the church “never, ever, ever, ever leave[s] a child in harm’s way, ever.”
So what happens when a child is not kept safe?
Last week, Floodlit broke the story that the Mormon church’s risk management director Branden Wilson stated during a 2023 civil lawsuit: “The Church does not keep a repository of documents relating to allegations, claims, or notification of child sexual abuse. There is no ‘sexual abuse’ file.”
https://floodlit.org/no-abuse-file/
Wilson’s statement was part of a seven-page declaration under penalty of perjury. In it, he said that the church’s records related to child sexual abuse exist solely in scattered records in its risk management and confidential records departments.
If the church wants to protect children, why doesn’t it church have a child protection department, a database of known offenders, or even a list of lessons learned from cases where its system failed?
How can the church evaluate its system’s effectiveness and proclaim its approach to abuse is “the gold standard” for religious organizations to follow if it doesn’t keep records?
https://news-uk.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/effectiveness-of-church-approach-to-preventing-child-abuse
When there is “a blip here, a blip there,” as former church president Gordon Hinckley told Mike Wallace of the CBS news program 60 Minutes in 1996, why doesn’t the church keep track of the blips?
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/an-interview-with-gordon-hinckley/
The Mormon church has taught its members throughout its nearly 200-year history to keep meticulous records of their lives, including the abuses they suffer. So, why doesn’t it track known abusers in its ranks?
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2019/04/the-sacred-duty-of-record-keeping
In an 1839 letter to the church, its founder Joseph Smith wrote:
“[W]e would suggest for your consideration the propriety of all the saints gathering up a knowledge of all the facts, and sufferings and abuses put upon them by the people of this State; And also of all the property and amount of damages which they have sustained, both of character and personal injuries, as well as real property; And also the names of all persons that have had a hand in their oppressions, as far as they can get hold of them and find them out. And perhaps a committee can be appointed to find out these things, and to take statements and affidavits […]”
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/123?lang=eng
The church has never released a list of its sex offenders, and it continues to wage legal battles to keep its disciplinary records secret. Examples:
- Arizona https://floodlit.org/serious-injury/
- California https://floodlit.org/coordinated-lawsuit-california/
- Missouri https://floodlit.org/a/a095/
- Oregon https://floodlit.org/fighting-secret-farley/
- Washington https://floodlit.org/a/b163/
Our Work
So far this year, Floodlit broken several stories that raised public awareness of the inner workings of the Mormon church when it comes to child sexual abuse. Examples:
- The 1984 lawsuit: https://floodlit.org/uncovering-knowledge/
- Contradictions in court statement: https://floodlit.org/findings-mormon-official/
- The Ed Dyer alleged coverup: https://floodlit.org/another-alleged-coverup/
- $1.3 million in court costs: https://floodlit.org/found-million-more/
- Letters to First Presidency: https://floodlit.org/where-letters/
- $2+ million in settlements: https://floodlit.org/three-more-settlements/
- Church sued insurers for $90 million: https://floodlit.org/90-million/
- $59 million spent on a CSA lawsuit: https://floodlit.org/59-million/
A January 2025 UC Davis Business Law Journal article used Floodlit’s data to argue that the LDS church could be legally responsible for clergy abuse, following trends in holding institutions accountable (Heeding Christ’s Charge To Protect Children: Applying Vicarious Liability For Mormon Clergy Abuse – by Quaid Freeman).
https://blj.ucdavis.edu/archives/25/1/heeding-christs-charge-protect-children-applying-vicarious-liability-mormon-clergy
Case by case, document by document, Floodlit is building a repository of truth to pull the Mormon sexual abuse crisis into the spotlight and encourage discussion that honors survivors’ experiences, gives researchers tools to dig deeper, and empowers those who protect the vulnerable.
Add Your Story
If you reported sexual abuse to an LDS bishop or know someone who did, or if you know of an alleged LDS sex crime perpetrator, please tell us at https://floodlit.org/report-abuse/ or https://floodlit.org/contact/ . You will remain anonymous.
Please submit info by Sept. 30 so we have time to review for our year-end report.
Thank you for shining a light.
Support our work
Floodlit needs your financial support. We are spending money to get copies of court documents, comb through police reports and news articles, and create case reports that help uncover the sexual abuse crisis in the Mormon church.
Your donations make our work possible.
To make a donation, please go to: https://floodlit.org/donate/
Thank you so much for your support!
