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Paul Adams was a Mormon church member who sexually abused multiple children and shared videos of the sexual abuse on the Internet.
Adams was excommunicated from the Mormon church in 2013.
He died by suicide in 2017 while awaiting trial.
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’re 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.
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from the Associated Press on August 4, 2022:
“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.”
from the Associated Press on December 22, 2022:
“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.””
Facts
Alleged coverup- Criminal: Died awaiting trial, Not convicted, Suicide,
- Civil: Dismissed,
- Positions: Unknown position,
- During alleged crime: Not active LDS,
- When accused: Not active LDS,
- Alleged crime: 2010s, in Arizona,
- Crime scenes: Perpetrator's home, Victim's home,
- Victims: 2 victims, Multiple victims,
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Born: 1982
Died: 2017 - Mission: no
- Places: Arizona,
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,
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1. Leizza Alcantara Adams
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2. Seven years of sex abuse: How Mormon officials let it happen
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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
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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
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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
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.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