Crime: 1980s, 
Crime city:
CA - Los Angeles, CA - Santa Clarita, - Crime county:
CA - Los Angeles,
- Crime state:
California,
- Convicted:
1987,
LDS positions: Missionary, Scout leader, - During crime: Scout leader,
- LDS mission:
United States - Texas Dallas 1979-1981
- Alleged:
10 or more victims, Multiple victims,
- Alleged crime scenes:
LDS building, Perpetrator's home,
Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, Registered sex offender, Released, - Alleged failure to report
- Alleged church actions: Unknown church action, Ward official accused of discouraging victim or others from reporting, Ward official accused of failure to report, Ward official accused of pressuring victim not to seek accountability, Ward official accused of saying victim was responsible,
updated Oct 31, 2025 - request update | add info
Crime: 
Crime city:
Crime county:
Crime state:
LDS positions: 
Alleged:
Alleged crime scenes:
Criminal case(s): 
Craig Mathias was a Mormon church member and accountant in the Los Angeles area of California in the 1980s.
On July 1, 1987, Mathias was arrested on suspicion of molesting 11 boys, ages 12 to 14, over an 18-month period during overnight sleepovers at his home in the Canyon Country neighborhood of Santa Clarita.
In all, Floodlit is aware of at least 14 alleged victims of abuse by Mathias. One survivor told us he reported abuse by Mathias to a Mormon bishop, Brent Griffiths, in 1983 – four or five years before Mathias molested up to 11 more boys.
Craig Mathias sexual abuse criminal charges
On July 1, 1987, Mathias, then 27, was arrested “after a two-week investigation by the Juvenile Operations Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department determined he had molested [five] Scouts on several occasions over an 18-month period between January, 1986, and July, 1987,” according to a Nov. 19, 1987 Los Angeles Times article reporting on his sentencing.
At the time of his arrest, Mathias was a Boy Scout leader, a volunteer Big Brother of three fatherless youths, and a foster parent, according to officials.
Mathias turned himself in at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Substation July 1. He was released within a week after posting $50,000 bail.
Mathias reportedly urged a victim on a recorded phone call not to tell police about the abuse. (Source: BSA perversion file on Mathias, p. 14.)
On July 27, 1987, Mathias was placed in the BSA’s confidential “ineligible volunteer” files.
On Aug. 27, 1987, Mathias pleaded guilty in the San Fernando Superior Court (in Los Angeles County) to five felony counts of lewd acts with children under 14.
On Nov. 18, 1987, Mathias was sentenced to six years in prison. He was also fined $500.
A 2025 check of Mathias’s sex offender registration showed that he was released in 1990.
In April 1987, Mathias was a foster parent of a 10-year-old boy for two and a half weeks.
A survivor’s report
Tommy Womeldorf, author of Scout’s Dishonor, told Floodlit that Mathias abused him and a few other boys in the Northridge 1st Ward in Los Angeles, California in the early 1980s.
Womeldorf said he and his father reported Mathias’s abuse to their bishop, Brent Griffiths, in 1983, but ward leaders only made a “feeble attempt” (Womeldorf’s words) to bring Mathias in for questioning.
Mathias then moved about 15 miles away to Canyon Country, a neighborhood in Santa Clarita, California.
After his release in 1990, Mathias continued to work as a professional certified public accountant (CPA) for many years. According to a professional bio, Mathias “is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the California CPA Society” who “served on the faculty of California State University, Northridge for fourteen years and lectures extensively at other venues.”
Mathias also played the bagpipes on many occasions at local events.
Craig Mathias: Big Brother history
In February 1984, Mathias became a Big Brother in the Big Brothers of America, a non-profit agency that matched fatherless children with adults. He was subsequently matched with three boys.
On Jan. 3, 1986, the Santa Clarita Signal newspaper published a letter from Mathias in its “Letters to the editor” section. Mathias wrote, “I treasure the relationship I have with a very bright and energetic 10-year-old. I look forward to the half-day that I spend with him, and he has become a part of my family and I of his.”
In his letter, Mathias expressed his concern about a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against the Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles (BBGLA) regarding the Big Brothers’ policy of not matching homosexual men with the boys in the program.
Mathias wrote, “If the homosexual community feels so strongly that they should provide a similar service to Los Angeles, then why don’t they excercise [sic] the same right to assemble for the purpose of providing homosexual role models for young boys. Thus, mothers of boys interested in this service could seek them out.”
Floodlit is not aware whether the child Mathias mentioned in his letter was one of his sexual abuse victims, but at least one of his victims was a boy to whom he was a “Big Brother.” That boy eventually told his parents about the abuse, and they reported Mathias to deputies at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in June 1987, sparking the police investigation that led to Mathias’s arrest.
On June 16, 1987, after allegations surfaced, Mathias was dismissed from the Big Brothers program.
Craig Mathias: Registered sex offender history
As of October 2025, Mathias was a registered sex offender living in Simi Valley, California.
Craig Mathias: Mormon church membership history
In approximately 1979 to 1981, Mathias was a missionary for the Mormon church in Dallas, Texas.
In 1983, abuse survivor Tommy Womeldorf and his father reported Mathias to the Northridge 1st Ward bishop, Brent Griffiths, in Los Angeles, California, Womeldorf told Floodlit. They told Griffiths that Mathias had abused Womeldorf and a few other boys. However, Womeldorf said ward leaders made only a “feeble attempt” to bring Mathias in for questioning.
Womeldorf alleged in his book, Scouts Dishonor, that Mathias said he was sent home from his church mission to Texas for misconduct.
In 1985, Mathias was married in a Mormon temple.
Floodlit was not able to find any news articles from 1987 mentioning Mathias’s religious affiliation while reporting on his criminal case, but Mathias’s BSA perversion file lists Mathias as “L.D.S.” as of 1987.
As of January 1987, Mathias was a scoutmaster of BSA Troop 585, sponsored by the Canyon Country First Ward of the LDS church.
Floodlit is seeking more information about Mathias’s history in the Mormon church, including any church disciplinary actions.
It appears that Mathias may have been a Boy Scout leader at least twice in the 1980s in two different LDS wards in the Los Angeles, California area.
If you have any information, please contact us.
Have any info on this or other Mormon sex abuse cases? Contact us.
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Sources
- [redacted] - Mathias [wedding announcement of the accused],
- Letters to the Editor [Mathias was a Big Brother in 1986],
- Scout leader arrested on molestation counts,
- [redacted] Makes Eagle [shows that Mathias was a Mormon scoutmaster in 1987],
- Canyon Country Case : Scout Leader Gets 6-Year Term for Molesting Boys,
- Craig Mathias - the Perversion Files,
- Scouts Dishonor: A personal story of God, Abuse, Recovery and Truth,
- MATHIAS, CRAIG RALPH,
-
1. [redacted] - Mathias [wedding announcement of the accused]
[redacted] and Craig R. Mathias plan a June 15 wedding at the Los Angeles Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The couple met at the California State University, Northridge Institute of Religion.
[...]
Mathias is a graduate of Granada Hills High School and a 1984 graduate of CSUN. He served a mission for the church in Dallas, Texas. He is an assistant Scoutmaster and a big brother in the Big Brothers of America program. He is an accountant for Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and Co.
-
2. Letters to the Editor [Mathias was a Big Brother in 1986]
"I am very concerned by the recent suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against the Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles (BBGLA) regarding the Big Brothers' policy of not matching homosexual men with the boys in the program.
[...]
If the homosexual community feels so strongly that they should provide a similar service to Los Angeles, then why don't they excercise [sic] the same right to assemble for the purpose of providing homosexual role models for young boys. Thus, mothers of boys interested in this service could seek them out.
[...]
I have been with the program as a Big Brother for almost two years and I treasure the relationship I have with a very bright and energetic 10-year-old. I look forward to the half-day that I spend with him, and he has become a part of my family and I of his.
-
3. Scout leader arrested on molestation counts
Scout Leader Arrested on Molestation Counts
A Canyon Country Boy Scout leader has been arrested on charges that he molested 11 Scouts, 12 to 14 years old, over the last year and a half during overnight "sleepovers" at his home, a Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department spokesman said Monday.
After a two-week investigation, Sheriff's Juvenile Operations Bureau arrested Craig Mathias, 27, last Wednesday for "lewd and lascivious acts" against children, Deputy Pete Fosselman said. News of the arrest was withheld because of the investigation, he said.
Mathias surrendered at Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Substation, but is free after posting $50,000 bail, Fosselman said.
-
4. [redacted] Makes Eagle [shows that Mathias was a Mormon scoutmaster in 1987]
[redacted] Makes Eagle
[redacted], age 13, son of [redacted] of Canyon Country, received his Eagle Scout rank at a National Court of Honor Friday.
[redacted] is a member of Troop 585, sponsored by the Canyon Country First Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [redacted] is an honor student at Sierra Vista Junior High School, and is an active member of the L.D.S. Church. His eagle court will be held at the L.D.S. Stake Center on Camp Plenty Road in Canyon Country at 7:30 p.m.
Scoutmaster Craig Mathias said he was proud of [redacted]'s accomplishments.
[redacted] set a goal to earn his Eagle rank before his 14th birth- day, and made it with one day to spare. [redacted] is the only boy to have made Eagle Scout in the three years he has been in the troop.
He has held various leadership positions in the troop and in his church's young men program.
[redacted] plans to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy after graduating from Canyon High School, and serving two years as a missionary for his church.
-
5. Canyon Country Case : Scout Leader Gets 6-Year Term for Molesting Boys
A Canyon Country Boy Scout leader was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison for molesting five Scouts during overnight gatherings at his home.
There were grins and a few tears among the five boys as San Fernando Superior Court Judge Robert D. Fratianne imposed the sentence, which also included a $500 fine, on Craig Ralph Mathias.
Mathias had pleaded guilty Aug. 27 to five felony counts of child molestation.
Mathias’ wife burst into tears when Fratianne said he would not be swayed from imposing the sentence because the couple has a newborn son.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Pamela S. Davis-Springer, who had argued for the six-year sentence, said the boys, ages 10 to 14, had been accused at school of being homosexuals and deserved to see Mathias punished.
Work Furlough Urged
“This sends a clear message to other men who would exploit a position of trust for their own perverse needs: ‘Don’t do it,’ ” Davis-Springer said.
Mathias’ lawyer, Ronald V. Taylor, asked that his client be enrolled in a work furlough program instead of being sent to state prison. In a letter to the probation department, Mathias wrote that he had acted irrationally by engaging in activities that were “indecent and immoral.” He wrote that he had been grief-stricken that his closest friend was dying of leukemia.
Mathias was arrested July 1 after a two-week investigation by the Juvenile Operations Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department determined he had molested the Scouts on several occasions over an 18-month period between January, 1986, and July, 1987, Deputy Pete Fosselman said. The incidents occurred during “sleepovers” at Mathias’ rural home, Fosselman said.
The investigation began after one boy reported Mathias’ activities to the Sheriff’s Department in June. The boy had originally met Mathias through the Big Brothers program, Davis-Springer said.
Nine of the 20 boys in Mathias’ Boy Scout troop told deputies that, after Mathias’ wife went to bed, Mathias often engaged them in games that ended in sexual play that included his fondling them, Deputy Tom Kerfoot said.
Mathias was originally charged with six felony counts of child molestation and three misdemeanor counts involving the nine boys. To spare the children from testifying, Davis-Springer said she agreed to allow Mathias to plead guilty to felony counts involving five of the boys in exchange for a lighter sentence.
If Mathias had been convicted in a trial, he could have been sentenced to a maximum of 12 years in prison.
-
6. Craig Mathias - the Perversion Files
[Floodlit has a copy of the PDF]
-
7. Scouts Dishonor: A personal story of God, Abuse, Recovery and Truth
[intro]
As a precocious, enthusiastic boy of thirteen, Tommy had the whole world ahead of him...until a trusted association with his Boy Scout leader destroyed his innocence and shattered his self-perception. To make matters worse, the abuse Tommy endured took place within the sacred walls of the Mormon Church. While his tormentor went on to molest at least five other boys and was ultimately convicted on these charges, Tommy's own abuse went unacknowledged, the denial of which forever altered his life's path.
Succumbing to a lack of trust and self-worth, Tommy descends into a tumultuous life of drug and alcohol abuse, always seeking to mask the pain of his past. It is his relationship with the young, courageous single mother, Arlene Ryan, and her infant daughter that finally leads him into sobriety and brings him to a point in his life where he must question the failures of those he once trusted to protect him. Struggling to understand how reputable organizations can act in such reprehensible ways, Tommy is soon embroiled in a legal drama with the Mormon Church itself as he seeks the retribution and recognition of the Truth that had been suppressed for far too long. Throughout this journey, Tommy is gradually put back on the path for which his life was destined, with the ultimate purpose of serving victims and understanding the true meaning of justice, forgiveness, and Love.
-
8. MATHIAS, CRAIG RALPH
Known Aliases
Description
Date of Birth:
[redacted]/1960
Gender:
MALE
Height:
5'10"
Weight:
205 lbs
Eye Color:
BLUE
Hair Color:
GRAY/PARTIALLY GRAY
Ethnicity:
WHITE
Offenses
Offense Code:
288(a)
Description:
LEWD OR LASCIVIOUS ACTS WITH A CHILD UNDER 14 YEARS OF AGE
Year of Last Conviction:
1987
Year of Last Release:
1990The Department of Justice has no information about a subsequent felony incarceration for this registrant
Risk AssessmentTo learn more about risk assessments, view our Risk Assessment page
Addresses
Last Reported Address:
[redacted], SIMI VALLEY , 93065
County: VENTURA
Scars/Marks/TattoosNone
Documents
Have docs or info? Add information
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
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Other Mormon sex abuse cases
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