LDS positions: Not active LDS, Unknown position, - During alleged crime: Not active LDS,
- LDS mission:
no - Alleged:
2 victims, Multiple victims,
- Alleged crime scenes:
Online, Perpetrator's home, Victim's home,
Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Died awaiting trial, Not convicted, Suicide, - Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing,
- Alleged failure to report
- Alleged church actions: Church officials accused of failure to warn ward members, Excommunicated, Ward official accused of failure to report,
updated Dec 5, 2025 - request update | add info
Alleged crime: 
Alleged crime state:
LDS positions: 
Alleged:
Alleged crime scenes:
Paul Adams was a Mormon church member who was accused of sexually abusing multiple children and sharing videos of the sexual abuse on the internet.
Note: FLOODLIT typically does not publish case reports about people who were not active in the LDS church when they perpetrated or allegedly perpetrated sex crimes. Adams was not an active LDS member when he sexually abused children, as far as we are aware. However, this case is widely known and involved alleged failure by multiple LDS bishops to report sexual abuse, and therefore merits inclusion in our database. posting policy
Adams was excommunicated from the Mormon church in 2013.
He died by suicide in 2017 while awaiting trial.
Have any info on this or other Mormon sex abuse cases? Contact us.
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Sources
- Leizza Alcantara Adams,
- Seven years of sex abuse: How Mormon officials let it happen,
- Utah lawmaker told Mormon bishop not to report child sex abuse, docs show,
- Sex-abuse video victimizes child long after abuser is gone,
- Bisbee church at center of sexual abuse claim,
- Judge Recuses Self From Lawsuit Against LDS Church, Failed To Disclose Membership,
- Video: Sex abuse video spreads after Mormon church inaction (5m 39s),
- 4 takeaways from AP’s Mormon church sex abuse investigation,
- Presentence Hearing and Sentencing - Bisbee, Arizona - CR-201700425 - 247-page PDF,
- TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS MITIGATION HEARING and SENTENCING - PART ONE - 117-page PDF,
- 139. How the Helpline Actually Works — A Conversation with Kate Taylor Lauck episode / season 1,
- Failure to Report Sexual Abuse—Bisbee, Arizona,
- Suit against LDS church for not reporting sex abuse can go forward,
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1. Leizza Alcantara Adams
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2. Seven years of sex abuse: How Mormon officials let it happen
"MJ was a tiny, black-haired girl, just 5 years old, when her father admitted to his bishop that he was sexually abusing her.
"The father, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and an admitted pornography addict, was in counseling with his bishop when he revealed the abuse. The bishop, who was also a family physician, followed church policy and called what church officials have dubbed the “help line” for guidance.
"But the call offered little help for MJ. Lawyers for the church, widely known as the Mormon church, who staff the help line around the clock told Bishop John Herrod not to call police or child welfare officials. Instead he kept the abuse secret."
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3. Utah lawmaker told Mormon bishop not to report child sex abuse, docs show
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4. Sex-abuse video victimizes child long after abuser is gone
"Six years before the video surfaced in Auckland, Adams, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church, confessed to his bishop that he abused his daughter, identified by the AP as MJ.
"But a prominent church lawyer told the bishop to keep the abuse secret. And as a result, MJ was brutalized for seven more years. Today, she continues to be victimized almost daily in a different way, as the video, and others Adams took, circulate on the internet. Details of the Mormon officials’ cover-up of the Adams rapes were reported in an AP investigation in August.
[...]
"Lynne Cadigan, one of several attorneys representing three of the Adams children, said MJ will seek compensation from the child pornographers.
"But she and Salminen, the girl’s adoptive mother, lay most of the blame for the sexual abuse on officials of the Mormon church, who knew Adams molested MJ as early as 2010 and did nothing to stop it.
[...]
"Attorneys for the church say the bishops who knew that Adams abused his daughter — John Herrod and Robert “Kim” Mauzy — did nothing wrong by taking a lawyer’s advice and withholding the information because Adams told Herrod about the abuse during a spiritual confession, triggering the privilege.
"In a statement to the AP, the church said it had no knowledge Adams was recording himself abusing his two daughters and posting the material on the internet until 2017. “The Church had no idea that these videos were being created or circulated until after Paul Adams was arrested,” the statement read. “The church supports all efforts to prosecute anyone who possesses or distributes these heinous and disturbing videos.”"
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5. Bisbee church at center of sexual abuse claim
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6. Judge Recuses Self From Lawsuit Against LDS Church, Failed To Disclose Membership
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7. Video: Sex abuse video spreads after Mormon church inaction (5m 39s)
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8. 4 takeaways from AP’s Mormon church sex abuse investigation
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9. Presentence Hearing and Sentencing - Bisbee, Arizona - CR-201700425 - 247-page PDF
-
10. TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS MITIGATION HEARING and SENTENCING - PART ONE - 117-page PDF
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11. 139. How the Helpline Actually Works — A Conversation with Kate Taylor Lauck episode / season 1
*This episode discusses the topic of sexual abuse, and in particular, the recent sexual abuse case in Arizona that was covered by the Associated Press and widely shared and discussed in mainstream/social media. Please use discretion in determining whether or not this is a suitable episode for you or for anyone listening in.*
As most of you know, in August of this year, the AP released an article that chronicled a case of sexual abuse, perpetrated by a member of the Church and, in at least in one instance in 2011, disclosed by the perpetrator to a bishop. The abuse continued for many years, with legal authorities only finding out — through other channels — and arresting the perpetrator in 2017.
When the article came out, we were, of course, disturbed and upset. We knew that we’d want to address the topic somehow, but didn’t want it to be a “hot take.” We decided to wait until we felt we had something truly valuable to add to the conversation, and when we were introduced to our guest, Kate Taylor Lauck, we knew that she would do just that.
Kate is a remarkable person and an investigative attorney who specializes in child abuse. She holds a master’s degree in national security strategies from the U.S. Naval War College and graduated cum laude from Georgetown Law in 2017. She’s worked on the Church’s help line as an attorney at Kirton McConkie and is also, herself, a survivor of sexual abuse.
In the conversation with Kate, we talked through some of the AP article itself, but spent quite a bit of time covering the help line and its processes. She shared with us what it was like to work there, and what she felt the driving motivation was on her team at Kirton McConkie, and at the Church broadly, when it comes to abuse. Kate also shared incredibly helpful information with us about what we can do, as Church and community members, to help prevent abuse.
Though of course we’re unable to adjudicate the details of the Arizona case — and we do think that it’s a tragedy that abuse was allowed to go on for many years when it didn’t need to — we felt it was important to address article’s implicit claims: that the Church’s help line’s primary purpose is to protect the Church against liability, regardless of what happens to victims.
It’s never been Faith Matters’ objective to participate in apologetics — we’ve always believed that the truth, regardless of how hard it may be to hear, is the key to finding healing and peace. That said, we believe few people could address this as well as Kate could. We’ve found her to be incredibly courageous and honest, and we’re proud to call her a friend.
We know that as with any topic of this importance and difficulty, every word and sentence we say has the potential to hurt someone, and we’re sure that we didn’t do this perfectly. As we’ve done in the past, we’re asking for grace and the benefit of the doubt. More than anything, we hope that this effort can further good faith efforts of everyone — Church members, Church leaders, and other members of our communities, to help prevent the tragedy of child sexual abuse.
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12. Failure to Report Sexual Abuse—Bisbee, Arizona
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13. Suit against LDS church for not reporting sex abuse can go forward
In a unanimous decision, an Arizona appeals court reversed a Superior Court judge's ruling that said a bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had no duty to report allegations of sexual abuse to law enforcement.
The appeals court ruled that a civil suit against the church, filed by the victims of the father, can go forward, citing the unique circumstances of the father’s confession to his bishop.
A spokesperson for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said it intended to appeal the decision to the Arizona Supreme Court. That appeal would likely stay the proceedings.
The father confessed to his bishop in 2011 that he had sexually abused one of his daughters, court documents show. The bishop then asked the man’s wife to join them, and the man told her he had abused their daughter, court documents show.
The bishop encouraged the man to turn himself in, or alternatively have his wife turn him in, but the court record shows, he did not feel he could call the authorities himself.
That bishop thought he couldn’t inform law enforcement because what the father told him was a confession, one of the statutory exemptions to the law that mandates certain people have a “duty to report” such abuse.
The church excommunicated the father from the Mormon church in 2013, a process during which he discussed his actions at a hearing. Still, the documents show, no one from the church alerted police or the state’s child protection agency.
Three of the father’s six children, two daughters and a son, filed a civil suit in 2020 against the church, saying it shouldered a share of blame for years of continued sexual abuse and exploitation.
A judge in Cochise County ended that lawsuit in November 2023, granting summary judgment in favor of the church. The appeals court ruled on July 29 that the decision was erroneous.
The three-judge panel ruled that when the father admitted the abuse to his wife, the bishop was merely observing the interaction, not taking a confession. The judges said that a jury might conclude that the exemption to the law did not apply in that circumstance.
The panel also said that a juror might find that the father’s confession before the panel, considering his excommunication also wasn’t privileged. The judges, in their decision, said that non-clergy members were also part of that meeting.
The judges also cited a portion of a handbook of Mormon church doctrine that says a bishop should disclose information to authorities to prevent life-threatening harm or serious injury. “In such cases, the duty to protect others is more important than the duty of confidentiality,” reads the handbook, as quoted in the judges’ decision.
The decision ordered the judge in Cochise County to restart the civil lawsuit, allowing the victims to make arguments that the confession was not privileged.
The church dedicates significant resources to combat abuse, a spokesperson for the LDS church said in an email.
"In this tragic case involving abuse perpetrated by the children's father, the Church and its clergy acted in accordance with Arizona law," the statement read.
A Tucson-based attorney for the victims, Lynne M. Cadigan, praised the decision.
"This renews my faith in the justice system," Cadigan said.
She said her clients have felt failed by their family, police and the church, and they were wondering if the courts would let them down as well.
The father, Paul Adams, initially confessed in 2011 to abusing one daughter. But he went on to abuse his other two children, court records show.
The abuse continued until February 2017, when police arrested him after finding a video he had posted online of himself abusing one of his daughters.
The father committed suicide in December 2017. His wife, Leizza, pleaded guilty to knowing about the abuse of their daughters and failing to stop it. She was sentenced to two years and six months in prison. She was released in October 2020.
(This story has been updated to add more information.)
Documents
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Criminal case documents
Floodlit does not have a copy of a related probable cause affidavit. Please check back soon or contact us to request that we look for one.Civil case documents
Floodlit does not have a copy of a related civil complaint. Please check back soon or contact us to request that we look for one.Other documents
Floodlit does not have a copy of any other related documents. Please check back soon or contact us to request that we look for some.Timeline
- 1982Born
- 2017Paul Adams dies by suicide
Videos
- Video title: How Mormon church 'help line' hid child sex abuse
- Video description: "One victim was 5 when her father told his bishop that he was sexually abusing her. The abuse went on for seven more years even though Mormon church leaders used a so-called help line to report her abuse." - Associated Press
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Other Mormon sex abuse cases
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- James Carnegie was a Mormon bishop in Silverdale, Washington in the mid-1980s (Silverdale 3rd Ward, Silverdale Washington Stake); convicted in 2009 and sentenced to jail for child molestation
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- Jeffrey Head (1964 – ) was an LDS bishop in Draper, Utah; committed sex crimes while serving as a Mormon bishop; in 2019, a jury found him guilty of attempted forcible sexual abuse, two counts of lewdness and sexual battery; sentenced to four months in jail and four years of probation
- View report »
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- Shawn Gooden (1974 – ) was an LDS bishop in Lebanon, Pennsylvania from 2016-2020; arrested in 2022 and charged with sexual abuse of two children in Virginia from 1997-2000; pleaded guilty in July 2023 in Virginia to four felony counts; sentenced in November 2023 in Virginia to prison time and supervised probation on release; charged in July 2023 in Pennsylvania with more child sex abuse charges
- View report »
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