Arthur Bishop (1952 – 1988) was a Mormon boy scout leader in Utah; was excommunicated in the 1970s; later molested multiple children and killed five young boys; was sentenced to death by lethal injection in 1988.

This case arose in 1978 in Utah.

Art Bishop molested many children and killed five boys.

He grew up LDS and served an LDS mission to the Philippines.

He was excommunicated from the Mormon church in the 1970s.

On his last day alive in Utah State Prison, Bishop read from the Book of Mormon prior to being executed by lethal injection.

FLOODLIT.org is not aware of any instances of sexual abuse allegedly committed by Bishop before he left the LDS church; however, we believe his inclusion in our database is justified because of the possibility that he molested or harmed other victims who may not have been able or willing to come forward, and because we feel that the high-profile public nature of his case and the extensive public documentation surrounding it provide fertile ground for research in this topic.

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Sources

  1. Slayer of Five Boys Is Executed in Utah By Injection of Drugs, New York Times, March 14, 2026.
  2. The Justice Files: The devil in Salt Lake City, Five boys Pt. 5 - ABC4 - 2021-05-07, , March 14, 2026.

Documents

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Criminal case documents

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Civil case documents

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Timeline

  • 1952
    Born

Videos

    • Video title: Arthur Gary Bishop: Child Molester and Serial Killer Documentary
    • Video description: The Killer Next Door
    • Video title: Arthur Gary Bishop
    • Video description: In advance of a Discovery Channel documentary KUTV's Chris Jones takes a look at the crimes which, thirty years ago, held Salt Lake City in the grip of fear.

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Other Mormon sex abuse cases

    • Arlo Atkin (1956 – ) was a former LDS bishop in or near Chandler, Maricopa County, Arizona; accused of raping and impregnating a 14-year-old girl in his ward while he was her bishop; pleaded guilty, spent 132 days in jail
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    • Clayton Hildreth (1952 – ) was a Mormon stake president in Butte, Montana; from Dillon, Montana; arrested in June 2004 by Boise, Idaho police for soliciting sex from a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl online; was stake president at the time of his arrest; pleaded guilty in October to a charge of interstate travel with intent to have sex with a minor; sentenced in 2005 to three years and five months in prison
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    • David Moss (1967 – ) was an LDS bishop (2015-19) and police officer in Lehi, Utah; arrested in 2019 for soliciting an undercover cop for sex; pleaded guilty in 2019 to a 3rd degree felony charge of exploiting a prostitute and a misdemeanor charge of patronizing a prostitute; sentenced to prison, but both terms were suspended
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