Summary
In 2021, Anthon Ellsworth was sentenced to seven years in prison for sexual exploitation of a minor.
Ellsworth had recently been called a a counselor in an LDS church ward bishopric at the time of his arrest in late 2020.
The victim became aware of most of Ellsworth’s invasive recordings and photos of her before he was arrested, a person familiar with the case told FLOODLIT. This contradicts the reporting in the Eastern Arizona Courier.
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Alleged coverup- Criminal: Convicted, Plea agreement, Pleaded guilty, Prison,
- Civil: No civil case,
- Positions: Bishopric counselor, Missionary,
- During crime: Bishopric counselor,
- When accused: Bishopric counselor,
- Crime: 2020s, in Arizona,
- Convicted: 2020s, 2021,
- Crime scenes: Perpetrator's home, Victim's home,
- Victims: 1 victim,
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Born: 1982
- Mission: 2001-2003 Brazil Brazil [unknown]
- Locations: Arizona, Brazil,
Sources
- Thatcher man charged with taking nude photos of [a minor girl],
- Thatcher man facing sexual exploitation charges,
- Rowan Joseph Ellsworth [uncle of Anthon Ellsworth],
- Arizona case information,
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1. Thatcher man charged with taking nude photos of [a minor girl]
[redacted by FLOODLIT to preserve the victim's privacy]
THATCHER — A Thatcher man is facing a number of charges stemming from allegations he took nude photos and videos of [a] teenage [girl].
Anthon Taylor Ellsworth is facing 11 charges, including three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor by selling visuals, three counts of surreptitious viewing without consent, three counts of voyeurism and two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor by selling visuals.
Back in February, Thatcher Police were notified of the allegations by Child Protective Services. Police interviewed the suspect’s wife, who said she found nude photos and videos of [the victim] in the family’s cloud-based Amazon account.She said she confronted her husband, and told investigators he reportedly admitted to her that he had taken images “four to five times over the past several months.”
She said she asked him to leave their home and suggested he speak with their bishop.
Investigators also spoke to the victim, who said she had found [Ellsworth] in her room attempting to place a camera, as well as finding other hidden cameras and phones in her room that were recording video of her, including video of her disrobing. In each instance she said she deleted the videos and gave the recording devices back to [Ellsworth].
On advice from his attorney, Ellsworth declined to speak with investigators.
During searches of the home, the hotel room where Ellsworth was staying and his place of work, police seized a number of electronic devices that were sent to the Arizona Department of Public Safety lab in Tucson for forensic analysis.
That analysis turned up nude photos of a female that the victim’s wife was able to identify as [the victim].
A warrant for Ellsworth’s arrest was issued last week. He was charged, taken into custody and bond was set at $100,000.
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2. Thatcher man facing sexual exploitation charges
A 38-year-old Thatcher man was arrested recently on numerous sexual exploitation charges six months after his wife told police she found a pornographic video on the family Amazon iCloud account starring a 15-year-old girl.
According to a Thatcher Police Department report dated Aug. 19, Chief Shaffen Woods became aware of an Arizona Department of Child Safety investigation involving a Thatcher man in February and directed his officers to launch their own investigation.
The woman told officers she had discovered pornographic photos and a video of the girl on the family’s Amazon iCloud account. Although she could only see the shoes of the videographer, she told officers she recognized the shoes as her husband’s.
She further told officers that when she confronted her husband, he admitted to being obsessed with the girl before leaving the home for a hotel, according to the report.
The teenager in the photos and video told detectives she was unaware she was being filmed, the report stated.
The woman said she’d deleted the video and detectives obtained search warrants for the couple’s home, electronics and the husband’s motel room.
Amazon provided jump drives to the officers, but no pornographic video or photos could be found.
While serving the search warrant at the motel, detectives seized a computer, two phones, and other electronics.
The man was arrested last week after a forensic lab in Tucson informed Thatcher police they’d found a nude photo of a minor and the woman confirmed she’d seen it on the iCloud account.
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3. Rowan Joseph Ellsworth [uncle of Anthon Ellsworth]
Rowan Joseph Ellsworth was an LDS church member and schoolteacher in Arizona; molested a 14-year-old girl at an LDS girls camp in mid-1990; the abuse was reported to a bishop Burgess, who allegedly failed to report to police, but instead encouraged the victim to forgive; sentenced to prison in 1999 for two counts of child sexual abuse; released in 2007.
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4. Arizona case information
S-0500-DO-202000179 ANTHON ELLSWORTH RESPONDENT 06/1982 Graham County Superior
Note: Ellsworth's birth year is incorrectly noted as 1962; he was born in 1982.
S-0500-CR-202000220 ANTHON TAYLOR ELLSWORTH DEFENDANT 06/1962 THATCHER, AZ 85552 Graham County SuperiorJ-0502-CF-20200069 ANTHON TAYLOR ELLSWORTH DEFENDANT 06/1982 THATCHER, AZ 85552 Pima Justice
CR202000220
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
We do not know of any related civil cases, so no related civil case documents exist. If you have information that suggests otherwise, please contact us.