Spencer Remde Dixon

Sources

1. Former LDS bishop found innocent of sexual abuse, Daily Herald, October 24, 2003.
2. Ex-bishop is cleared of abuse, Deseret News, October 24, 2003.

• 1. Former LDS bishop found innocent of sexual abuse

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  • Daily Herald

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  SALT LAKE CITY — Former LDS Bishop Spencer Dixon, who was accused of touching a 13-year-old girl on the buttocks and breast, has been acquitted of first-degree felony sexual abuse of a child.

  The jury returned the innocent verdict Thursday night.

  The girl testified that Dixon touched her twice on the buttocks and once on the breast as they wheeled a TV cart out of a room at the Monument Park 7th Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The incident happened on Aug. 24, 2002.

  Dixon, who was relieved of his duties as a bishop after he was charged, testified that he did not realize where he was touching and was not seeking sexual gratification.

  The charges were elevated to a first-degree felony because he was in a position of trust to the girl.

  The girl said she was pushing the cart out the door ahead of Dixon when the cart got stuck. Then Dixon placed his hand on her buttocks, then on her chest with two or three fingers touching her breast and then on her buttocks again, she testified.

  Dixon said he first tried to push her and the car through the door, then put his hand on her chest and pulled.

  Following the verdict, Dixon said he had no malice toward his accuser.

• 2. Ex-bishop is cleared of abuse

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  • Deseret News

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  Jurors on Thursday cleared a former LDS bishop of sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl in the basement of his church meetinghouse.

  The seven-woman, one-man jury deliberated just three hours before returning with the not-guilty verdict to one count of first-degree felony aggravated sexual abuse of a child. Supporters of Spencer Dixon, some two dozen who packed 3rd District Judge Sheila McCleve's courtroom, met the decision with tears and sighs of relief.

  Outside the courtroom, Dixon appeared calm, as he was throughout the two-day trial, and showed very little emotion.

  "I knew that justice would prevail," Dixon said. "I knew God was on my side."

  The 39-year-old former church leader was accused of touching the teenage girl three times, twice on the buttocks and once on the breast, while she tried to wheel an audio-visual cart out of the library of the church at 1749 S. Texas St. (2430 East).

  The girl testified Wednesday, detailing how long each touch lasted and demonstrating them for jurors.

  Taking the stand in his own defense, Dixon admitted to touching the girl, who was not a member of his ward, but said he did so accidentally after the cart became stuck in the library doorway.

  In order to convict Dixon of the first-degree felony, jurors would have had to find that he touched the girl in order to gratify his sexual desires or intended to cause her physical or emotional harm.

  After rendering their verdict, three female jurors said they had no evidence to support either element.

  "He was guilty of not using good judgment," Darla Hansen said, but said jurors found no proof of sexual intent.

  Defense attorney Brad Rich had attempted to include a lesser offense, class A misdemeanor sexual battery, that jurors could have considered in addition to the first-degree felony charge. But Dixon refused to allow the less serious charge to be presented to the jury.

  Rich encouraged Dixon to change his mind, saying he believed omitting it was "a very risky strategy."

  The strategy apparently paid off, however, because the three jurors who spoke to the media said the lesser offense would likely have made a difference in their deliberations.

  Deputy Salt Lake County District Attorney Paul Parker told the jury in his closing arguments that Dixon was "three for three" in his interactions with the girl. That is, he touched her three times, and each time he placed his hand in a sensitive area.

  "It's not a mistake. It's not a spasm of the arm. It's an intentional act," Parker said. "This man intended to cop a feel."

  Parker said Dixon was "flirting" with the girl while the two were retrieving a television and selecting videos for the younger children to watch following the girl's great-grandmother's funeral.

  The first touch to the girl's buttocks was especially telling, Parker said, because of its placement in the center of her buttocks.

  "There cannot be any rational purpose to touch a woman (like that) other than with sexual intent," Parker said. "No reasonable person does that."

  Dixon testified he was simply trying to maneuver the cart through the door through a series of pushes and pulls.

  The accusations against Dixon would have normally been brought as a second-degree felony, but the charge against Dixon was elevated because he was in a position of trust to the girl. Dixon has since been released from his position as bishop.