Details
Case summary
Add info | Back to topMormon bishop, 42, is charged with sending sexually explicit messages to a child after he was allegedly caught ‘lying about his age on Pinterest’
A Mormon bishop has been charged with allegedly sending sexually explicit messages to a child after a tip off about his Pinterest account.
Nicholas Pierre Faivre, the former bishop of the Leura Ward of the Church of Latter Day Saints, had his Blue Mountains home raided by the Federal Police on Monday.
Detectives seized a mobile phone and two tablet computers and charged Faivre, 42, with two counts of ‘transmit indecent communications’ to a minor.
One-time Mormon bishop Nicolas Faivre, 42, was arrested by Australian Federal Police officers this week and charged with two counts of transmitting indecent communications to a minor
The investigation was sparked by a tip from the United States National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in September 2020.
The centre claimed that an Australian Pinterest user had been lying about his age, a police statement said, leading local officers to allegedly identify the Katoomba man.
Faivre was refused bail during a brief appearance at Penrith Local Court on Tuesday afternoon.
A spokesman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told Daily Mail Australia: ‘Nicolas Faivre has served in his congregation as a bishop (lay leader) in the past but has not been in a leadership role for over a year.’
The spokesman said the church opposes abuse of any kind and works with authorities to protect the innocent.
Faivre has previously given media interviews about his work with the church, telling The Guardian in 2017 that the ‘message of the gospel’ was ‘something special’.
Friends often address Faivre as ‘bishop’.
Jarryd Dunbar, a detective sergeant with the Federal Police, said parents and carers need to be aware of the risks of unsupervised children accessing the internet.
‘Any website that enables users to interact freely with one another is a platform that offenders can use to groom children,’ Mr Dunbar said.
Faivre will return to court for a bail review on Thursday. His lawyer, Jasmina Ceic, was approached for comment.
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LDS/Mormon church membership history
Add info | Back to topLDS mission information
The accused did not serve a full-time LDS mission.
LDS temple marriage information
FLOODLIT is not aware whether the accused was married in a Mormon temple.
Alleged victim(s)
Add info | Back to top- Number of alleged victim(s) - note if approximate:
- Average age of alleged victim(s) at time of alleged crime(s):
LDS church response(s)
Add info | Back to top- Alleged failure to report by local LDS leaders? no
- Alleged misconduct by local LDS leaders? no
- Alleged misconduct by global LDS leaders? no
FLOODLIT is not aware whether the Mormon church paid any settlement amounts related to this case.
