former Mormon bishop in Mapleton, Utah; was sentenced to prison for sexually abusing two children while serving as their bishop

About Erik Hughes

Erik Hughes Mormon Sex Crime Case Summary

In 2017, Erik Hughes, a former LDS Bishop, entered a guilty plea for two second-degree felonies for forcible sexual abuse and one third-degree felony for tampering with a witness. There were three victims that came forward against this abuser.

from Gephardt Daily:

Former LDS bishop from Mapleton jailed on 20-plus counts of child abuse

“MAPLETON, Utah, June 23, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — A former bishop for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been booked into the Utah County Jail on two dozen felony charges involving the alleged sexual abuse of two minors.

Erik Wayne Hughes, 51, was arrested Wednesday night by Mapleton police.

He’s now being held on 20 counts of forcible sexual abuse, one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of dealing in harmful materials to a minor and one count of witness tampering.

Mapleton police investigators said the charges were prompted by the recent admissions of two adult men, ages 18 and 21, who said they’d been molested by Hughes over the course of a few years when he was their LDS bishop.

Both men, then juveniles, said some of the encounters took place after they had been drugged by Hughes — twice in the form of spiked beverages, twice more with altered pills.

In one of the alleged dopings, police said Hughes provided one of the teens with a fake melatonin tablet to help him sleep. The victim said he awoke to find Hughes touching him in a sexual manner.

Eric Hawkins, spokesperson for the LDS Church released the following prepared statement to Gephardt Daily:

“There is zero tolerance for abuse of any kind in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When local leaders first learned about this matter, they immediately reported it to law enforcement. We have supported and been cooperated fully with the law enforcement investigation. This individual has been removed from any position within the church.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims. We will continue to reach out to them and their families to provide support and love.”

Hughes’ case has been filed in 4th District Court in Provo.

He is currently being held on a $25,000 cash-only bail.”

Alleged victims: 3 underage males

Verdict: guilty plea for two second-degree felonies for forcible sexual abuse and one third-degree felony for tampering with a witness

Sentence: October 2017 – one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison for the two forcible sexual abuse charges. He was sentenced to at least five years in prison for tampering with a witness.

LDS Sex Abuse: FLOODLIT Reader Poll


The poll below is completely anonymous. We love hearing from you! View all polls results

What change(s) would be MOST impactful to protect LDS kids? (choose up to 3)

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
Online sources
  1. source 1
    view source details | |
  2. source 2
    view source details | |
  3. source 3
    view source details | |
  4. source 4
    view source details | |
  5. source 5
    view source details | |
  6. source 6
    view source details | |
  7. source 7
    view source details | |
  8. Former Mapleton Mormon bishop accused of drugging, abusing 2 teens - KSL - 2017-06-23
    view source details | |
  9. When Privilege Protects Atrocity - Daily Utah Chronicle - 2017-06-29
    view source details | |
  10. Former LDS bishop, accused of teen sex abuse, described as good neighbor, husband, father - KUTV - 2017-06-23
    view source details | |
Online sources excerpts

 

Add information on Erik Hughes

"*" indicates required fields

Share details to help us improve our records. To report an unlisted abuser, email us at tips@floodlit.org. We'll keep you anonymous unless you tell us otherwise. Anything you share via this form will be privately reviewed by the FLOODLIT team to see if it's something we can publish.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Donate to help us research Mormon sex abuse cases.

Browse our LDS sexual abuse database.

 

Do a case review about Erik Hughes

You can help Floodlit.org improve our database by reviewing this case and letting us know what we can change or add.

Mormon sex abuse cases: latest updates

Browse our most recently updated cases below or view all accused LDS church members.

Mormon sex abuse map

The map below shows places where alleged or confirmed sex crimes by Mormon church members took place, where the accused lived, where they were arrested, and where they served prison time. Visit the FLOODLIT map.

+Add map marker