Ronald Devere Hall

Ronald Devere Hall was a former LDS church seminary teacher and Manti Pageant director who was convicted of child sexual abuse in 2005.

In 1955, Hall was married in the Salt Lake Temple. At that time, he was a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Hall taught drama and music at Payson junior and senior high schools and joined the LDS Seminary system in 1966 as an instructor.

Hall was principal of the Manti, Utah LDS seminary. He taught seminary at Manti and Richfield high schools.

He was director of the Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti from 1989 to 1997.

On September 13, 1999, Hall was arrested by the Sanpete County Sheriff’s Office.

Hall was charged with five counts of first degree felony aggravated sexual abuse of a child, two counts of class A misdemeanor lewdness involving a child and one count each of second degree felony criminal solicitation and third degree felony dealing in harmful material to a minor, after prosecutors alleged he molested three young girls.

The crimes allegedly took place between 1994 and 1999.

In June 2000, Hall was acquitted of one count of sexual abuse.

Prosecutors dismissed the allegations of one girl before Hall went to trial. Fifth District Judge James L. Shumate dismissed another. A jury acquitted Hall of the remaining three counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child.

Hall’s attorney Walter Budgen said the charges against Hall “were the product of acrimonious, bitter divorces between the father of the accusing [victims] and two different mothers, both divorced from the father.”

Budgen also called the trial an “ordeal” and said it had damaged Hall’s reputation.

On March 14, 2005, Hall was convicted and sentenced for third degree felony attempted child sexual abuse (Utah case number 041700259). He was required to register as a sex offender in Utah.

As of 2023, Hall is no longer a registered sex offender. He lived in Manti, Utah and died November 11, 2023.